Acrostichum aureumGolden Leather Fern

Coastal wetlands across the tropics are held together by Acrostichum aureum, the Golden Leather Fern, a large clumping fern of mangrove fringes and brackish swamps. Its coarse, pinnate fronds are thick and leathery rather than delicate, and the emerging growth flushes a warm golden bronze that gives the plant its name.

It is used where a bold evergreen mass is wanted at the water's edge, in constructed wetlands, mangrove restoration and the wet margins of designed water features.

Specifications

• Height1.5 to 4 metres
• Width1.5 to 3 metres (clump)
• Native toTropical coastlines of the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific
• FoliageLarge, once-pinnate fronds, thick and leathery, with a golden bronze flush on new growth; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers wet, heavy soils and brackish or saline muds; tolerates permanent waterlogging
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterHigh; requires permanently moist or wet ground and will not tolerate drying out
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical coastal and estuarine conditions

Additional Features

• FormDense, upright clump of arching fronds
• UsesIdeal for wetland margins, mangrove and estuary restoration, bioswales and the wet edges of water features
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a continuous wetland mass
• Low MaintenanceRequires little attention; cut out spent fronds at the base
• Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free in suitable wet conditions
• Salt ToleranceGrows naturally in brackish and saline ground, and tolerates tidal inundation
• Erosion ControlBinds soft tidal and estuarine margins with a dense fibrous root mass

The Golden Leather Fern is the fern to reach for where the ground is permanently wet and salty, and few other evergreen species will hold.