Hare's foot fern, rabbit's foot fern

This fern grows in the mature primary tropical forest, on shaded cliffsides or on the branches of some large trees or the trunks of palms. It occasionally grows on the ground or on moss-covered rocks in forests at higher altitudes. It adapts to a variety of light conditions, but is apparently more abundant in shady, moist sites. It is found in both temperate and tropical zones in the southern United States (Florida and Georgia),Central America, the West Indies, Trinidad and northern South America, as far south as Argentina. It is rare in Brazil.