Goldfoot Fern
Phlebodium aureum
Goldfoot Fern or Golden Polypody is found throughout Florida growing on Cabbage Palms and other plants. It can be found growing at the base of a plant if there is sufficient leaf litter to keep the soil moist.
The leaves are up to four feet long and two feet wide with many long lobes. It also grows in South America and the Caribbean and brings its weeping tropical look from there with it.
The golden colored stems grow through the boots of Cabbage Palms and are half an inch thick. The similar looking exotic Serpent Fern, Microsorum grossum, is offered in hanging baskets at the local box stores.
This is an invasive species with a dark pencil thin root and smaller, shinier leaves. I have found large patches of it covering the ground in natural areas. Get rid of it if you find it growing anywhere. Click for more info, and here.
Also, Hand Fern, Ophioglossum palmatum, looks similar to the above two yet is much smaller with thick fleshy leaves. It is found in only a few locations in Florida, usually on Cabbage Palm boots near fresh water swamps. Click for more info.
Once established, Goldenfoot Fern can withstand long periods of drought. Plant it within the boots of your Cabbage Palms, if it isn’t already growing there, on the ground, within large piled bolders or a wall built with open areas between the stones. Place rotted leaves with the roots and lots of mulch for a ground planting.
This plant adds beauty to the landscape and hiding places for beneficial wildlife. It can be mixed with native Boston Fern and other ferns and grasses. Since it grows fairly slowly, it makes a nice ground cover at the base of the house.