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Japanese netvein hollyfern

Cyrtomium falcatum, Polypodiaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Aspidium falcatum, Fern Holly, Fish Tail, Fish Tail Fern, fishtail fern, Hapanese Netvein Hollyfern, holly fern, house holly fern, Japanese Holly, Japanese Holly Fern and Polystichum Falcatum.

Japanese netvein hollyfern (Cyrtomium falcatum), the whole plant.
Daderot, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Listed as non-toxic to cats by ASPCA.
  • Listed as non-toxic to dogs by ASPCA.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Cyrtomium falcatum AGM. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Full shade, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H3 — -5 to 1°C -5 to 1 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Propagation
By division or seed.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Sow spores in late summer at 16°C.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
A low-maintenance plant that needs no pruning, though frost-damaged fronds can be cut off to tidy it.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pruning is not needed, though frost-damaged fronds can be cut off in spring.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by Florida fern caterpillar.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Usually free of pests and diseases.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

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Close view of Japanese netvein hollyfern (Cyrtomium falcatum) foliage.
Close upAgnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Japanese netvein hollyfern (Cyrtomium falcatum) growing wild.
In the wildFab5669, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Cyrtomium falcatum is a species of fern, commonly known as house holly-fern and Japanese holly fern, in the wood fern family Dryopteridaceae. It is native to eastern Asia.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
China to Temp. E. Asia and Vietnam
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
China to Temp. Eastern Asia and Vietnam
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
E Asia
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
temperate
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
perennial or lithophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Fern, Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial; habit clumping, dense, erect, mounding, rounded
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Tufted (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 17–24 in; width 24–36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
No flowers.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

More of the Polypodiaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.