Kangaroo paw fern
Zealandia pustulata
Also called Microsorum pustulatum, Hound's tongue fern and Kangaroo fern
Houseplant · Ferns & palmsThe fronds change shape as the plant ages — young ones are a simple tongue, old ones are cut into paws — so a plant with both on it is not two plants. It grows on bark, so an open mix and a wide shallow pot suit it.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Once a weekKeep it moist — water at the first hint of dryness — don't wait for a dry pot.
- Light
- Medium indirect
- Feed
- Every 60 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 0.4 m tall · 0.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- New Zealand and Australia
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Zealandia, nor the older name Microsorum pustulatum. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- The furry creeping stem pushed under the compost when the plant was potted, and going soft. It travels ACROSS the surface — plant it shallow and let it crawl over the rim.Rhizome buried · disease
- Simple tongues low down and deeply lobed paws above, on what looks like a muddle. It is one plant: the shape changes as it matures.Two frond shapes mistaken for two plants · disorder