Sword Fern
Nephrolepis cordifolia
Also known as: Fishbone Fern, Tuberous Sword Fern, Erect Sword Fern, Herringbone Fern, Ladder Fern, Sinampalok Fern
Stiff, upright, sword-shaped fronds that knit into a dense green mat. The hardy, tuber-bearing cousin of the Boston fern, used across Philippine projects as a shaded ground cover, a slope binder for erosion control, and a workhorse plant on vertical garden walls. Tougher, more sun-tolerant, and more drought-resistant than most ferns. Sourced at 20-30 cm for ₱60 per plant.
Pricing Guide (per plant)
| Size / Spec | Price (PHP) |
|---|---|
| 20-30 cm clump | ₱60 |
Volume Discounts
- 25–100 plants:5%
- 101–300 plants:8-10%
- 301+ plants:Project-specific pricing
Prices reflect plant only. Delivery and installation quoted per project. Bulk pricing available for ground-cover beds, slope plantings, and vertical garden walls. Plants ship in nursery pots; mass-planting trays quoted separately. For ground cover, plant at about 45 cm centers.
Request Project Quote →About Sword Fern
Sword Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) is a fast-growing evergreen fern in the family Nephrolepidaceae, native to the Old World tropics including northern Australia and tropical Asia.[^1][^2] It spreads by wiry runners (stolons) and small round underground tubers, forming dense colonies that smother weeds and hold soil. Unlike most ferns, it shrugs off dry spells, poor soil, and bright sun once established, which is why Philippine landscapers reach for it where softer ferns fail.[^2] Locally it is widely called sinampalok fern, because the ladder of small paired leaflets along each frond resembles a sampalok (tamarind) branch.
Common Applications
- Shaded ground cover. Mass-planted at about 45 cm centers under canopy, pergolas, and covered courtyards where grass thins out.
- Slope and erosion control. The running rhizome and tuber network binds soil on banks and embankments.
- Vertical garden walls. Naturally epiphytic, so it thrives in shallow wall pockets and felt systems; the water-storing tubers buy a margin when irrigation skips.
- Poolside shade beds. Soft, non-toxic, no thorns; works in shaded pool surrounds set back from chlorinated splash.
- Container and planter infill. Spills attractively over the edge of raised beds, troughs, and large pots.
- Understory texture. Fine-textured filler beneath palms, heliconia, and broadleaf foliage.
Where You'll See It
- Vertical garden walls in offices, restaurants, and residential entries
- Shaded subdivision common areas and parish or school grounds
- Slope plantings along driveways and embankments
- Resort and clubhouse courtyards under mature canopy
- Covered atriums and parking-structure planters
Why Architects Choose It
- Hardier than Boston fern: tolerates sun, wind, dry spells, and poor soil
- Fast, self-knitting cover that suppresses weeds without chemicals
- Doubles as ground cover and vertical garden plant, so one species spans multiple zones in a scheme
- Non-toxic and thornless, suitable for family gardens and hospitality
- Cheap to propagate from divisions, so large beds stay within budget
Project Types Best Suited
- Vertical garden and green-wall installations
- Shaded ground-cover beds and understory plantings
- Slope and embankment erosion control
- Resort, clubhouse, and subdivision common areas
- Low-maintenance commercial and institutional landscapes
Specifications
- Botanical name (popular)
- Nephrolepis cordifolia
- Botanical name (POWO accepted)
- Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl
- Family
- Nephrolepidaceae
- Native range
- Old World tropics, including northern Australia and tropical Asia; precise origin debated due to long cultivation
- Habit
- Evergreen rhizomatous fern spreading by stolons and tubers; forms dense colonies
- Sourced size
- 20-30 cm height (established clump)
- Mature size in cultivation
- Fronds 40-80 cm long (occasionally to 1 m); spreads indefinitely as a colony
- Fronds
- Erect to arching, once-pinnate, narrow and sword-shaped; many small oblong leaflets in a ladder pattern; bright green
- Flowers
- None (a true fern; reproduces by spores)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Sun
- Part shade to full sun; lush in shade, tolerates bright sun with moisture (more sun-tolerant than Boston fern)
- Water
- Moderate; drought-tolerant once established thanks to water-storing tubers
- Humidity
- Adaptable; far less humidity-fussy than Boston fern
- Minimum temperature
- Tropical; no cold issues anywhere in the Philippines
- Soil
- Adaptable and well-drained; tolerates poor and rocky substrates, walls, and shallow media
- Pet safe
- Generally non-toxic, consistent with Nephrolepis ferns (ASPCA lists the related Boston fern as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses)
- Pool safe
- Yes for shaded poolside beds; sheds old fronds (minor litter); keep back from chlorinated or saltwater splash
- Salt tolerant
- Low
- Diagnostic feature
- Small round tubers on the runners (present in this species, absent in Boston fern)
- Containment note
- Spreads aggressively; listed as invasive in Florida and New Zealand. Plant with a hard edge and budget a thinning pass.
Sword Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) Supplier
Sword Fern, locally the sinampalok fern, is a fast-spreading evergreen fern grown across Philippine landscapes for ground cover, slope binding, and vertical garden walls. It belongs to the family Nephrolepidaceae and is native to the Old World tropics, including northern Australia and tropical Asia.12 The plant earns its place by being tougher than the ferns it resembles: it tolerates sun, dry soil, and wind that would brown out a Boston fern.
Identity and Trade Names
The plant is sold and searched under many names: sword fern, fishbone fern, tuberous sword fern, erect sword fern, herringbone fern, and ladder fern.2 In the Philippines it is commonly called sinampalok fern for its tamarind-like foliage. The accepted scientific name at Plants of the World Online is Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl.1
Because “sword fern” is a shared common name (see the disambiguation below), the unambiguous label for this exact plant is Nephrolepis cordifolia or fishbone fern.
Native Habitat
Sword Fern occurs naturally across the Old World tropics, including rainforest and open forest in northeastern Australia and across tropical Asia.2 In the wild it grows terrestrially, on rock (lithophytic), and on tree trunks (epiphytic), which is exactly why it adapts so readily to walls, shallow planters, and vertical garden systems.3
Foliage Character
The signature feature is the frond: erect to arching, once-pinnate, and sword-shaped, carrying many small oblong leaflets (pinnae) in a tight ladder along the rachis.3 Fronds typically run 40-80 cm and can reach a meter. The narrow, stiff, upright habit reads as neat and architectural in mass, and the fine texture contrasts well against broadleaf foliage and stone.
The genus name comes from the Greek for kidney and scale (a reference to the spore covers), and the epithet cordifolia is Latin for “heart-leaf.”2
Telling It Apart: Sword Fern Look-Alikes
Three different ferns get called “sword fern” or “Boston fern” in conversation, and two of them are easy to confuse with this one. Here is how to keep them straight.
| Sword / Fishbone Fern | Boston Fern | Western Sword Fern | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Nephrolepis cordifolia | Nephrolepis exaltata | Polystichum munitum |
| Family | Nephrolepidaceae | Nephrolepidaceae | Dryopteridaceae |
| Origin / climate | Old World tropics; thrives in PH | Tropics/Americas; thrives in PH | Pacific NW North America; temperate, struggles in PH heat |
| Growth habit | Runs and spreads into colonies | Runs, but softer and fuller | Single clumping crown, stays put |
| Tubers on roots | Yes (round, water-storing) | No | No |
| Fronds | Narrow, stiff, upright | Broader, arching, frilly, delicate | Leathery, broad, distinct thumb-shaped base on each leaflet |
| Sun / drought | Tolerates sun, dry, poor soil | Wants shade and humidity | Wants cool, moist shade |
| Role here | Ground cover, slopes, vertical walls | Mostly potted / hanging accent | Not grown in lowland PH |
The fastest positive ID: dig up a runner and look for small round tubers. Among these look-alikes, only Nephrolepis cordifolia produces them, so tubers present means you have this plant, not a Boston fern.3
The Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) shares only the English name. It is a temperate North American fern from a different family that grows as a single clump and would cook in lowland Philippine heat, so anything spreading happily as ground cover here is the Nephrolepis, not the Polystichum.
Landscape Use in the Philippines
Sword Fern performs across Philippine projects in these positions:
- Vertical garden walls in conditioned and covered settings, where its epiphytic nature and water-storing tubers give it an edge
- Shaded ground-cover beds under canopy, pergolas, and covered courtyards
- Slopes and embankments for erosion control, where the runner-and-tuber network binds soil
- Poolside shade beds set back from chlorinated splash
- Container and planter infill spilling over raised-bed and trough edges
- Understory texture beneath palms and broadleaf foliage
It is not for hot, exposed, salty beachfront positions, and the old fronds shed, so it suits beds and walls more than spotless hardscape edges.
Why Specify Sword Fern
Tougher than it looks. Unlike most ferns, it tolerates sun, wind, dry spells, and poor or rocky soil once established, so it survives real Philippine site conditions instead of greenhouse pampering.3
Two jobs, one plant. It covers ground and climbs a wall, so a single species can carry both a shaded bed and the vertical garden in the same scheme, which keeps a planting palette tight and a maintenance crew familiar.
Fast, weed-suppressing cover. The dense colony shades out weeds without herbicides, cutting long-term maintenance.
Family- and hospitality-friendly. Soft, thornless, and non-toxic, with no fruit litter or irritant sap.
Care Highlights
- Light: part shade to full sun; lushest in bright shade
- Water: moderate; water through establishment, then drought-tolerant
- Soil: any well-drained mix; tolerant of poor and shallow substrates
- Spacing: about 45 cm centers for ground cover; tighter in wall pockets
- Containment: edge it hard. Runners and tubers will creep into lawns, gravel, and drip lines if left unchecked
- Upkeep: trim spent fronds; thin every few months in vigorous spots
- Pests: few; watch for scale, mealybugs, and the fern caterpillar
Sources
Footnotes
-
Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl.” Accessed 2026. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:17160730-1 ↩ ↩2
-
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. “Nephrolepis cordifolia.” North Carolina State University. Accessed 2026. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/nephrolepis-cordifolia/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
-
University of Florida IFAS Extension. “Natural Area Weeds: Distinguishing Native and Non-Native ‘Boston Ferns’ and ‘Sword Ferns’ (Nephrolepis spp.).” SSAGR22/AG120. Accessed 2026. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG120 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
Sourcing & Supply
Origin
Propagated by division and grown out in pots and trays under shade-house conditions. Sword fern multiplies readily from runners and tubers, so stock scales quickly for large ground-cover beds and wall installations.
Supplier Relationship
Grown in-house and coordinated with partner foliage yards for bulk volumes. Large ground-cover and vertical garden orders are batched across growers when single-yard inventory runs short.
Quality Control
Plants delivered with full, undamaged fronds, healthy runners, and intact root systems. Stock is acclimatized before transport, and clients receive spacing and containment guidance so the fern fills in fast without escaping its bed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sword fern the same as sinampalok fern?
Yes. Sinampalok fern is the common Philippine name for Nephrolepis cordifolia, given because the ladder of small leaflets along each frond looks like a tamarind (sampalok) branch. It is a true fern, and a different plant from the herbal sampa-sampalukan (Phyllanthus niruri), which is not a fern.
Is sword fern the same as a Boston fern?
They are close relatives in the same genus, but no. Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) has broader, softer, more arching fronds, wants more shade and humidity, and does not grow tubers. Sword fern (N. cordifolia) is narrower, stiffer, more upright, tolerates sun and dry soil, and produces small round tubers on its runners. The tubers are the giveaway.
How do I tell sword fern from the Western sword fern?
The Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) only shares the English name. It is a temperate North American fern in a different family that grows as a single clump and does not run or form tubers. It would not survive lowland Philippine heat, so any spreading sword fern used as ground cover here is Nephrolepis cordifolia.
What is the fastest way to confirm the species?
Dig up a runner and look for small round tubers, like tiny potatoes. Among the common look-alikes, only Nephrolepis cordifolia produces them, so tubers present is a positive ID.
Can sword fern grow in full sun?
Yes, more than most ferns. It is lushest in bright shade, but it tolerates full sun as long as it gets water through establishment. In deep dry sun it will look tired, so part shade is the sweet spot.
Is sword fern good for vertical gardens?
Very. It grows as an epiphyte in the wild, so shallow wall pockets and felt systems suit it, and the water-storing tubers help it ride out a missed irrigation cycle better than softer plants.
Is sword fern invasive in the Philippines?
It is aggressive. The same runners and tubers that make it a fast ground cover let it creep beyond where you plant it, and it is listed as invasive in places like Florida and New Zealand. In a managed Philippine landscape it is fine, but plant it with a hard edge and plan a periodic thinning so it does not jump into lawns, gravel, or drip lines.
Is sword fern safe around pets and kids?
Yes. It is thornless, has no irritant sap or fruit, and is regarded as non-toxic, consistent with other Nephrolepis ferns such as the Boston fern that the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses.
How do I propagate it?
Lift a clump and split it at the runners, making sure each division has roots and a few fronds, then pot up or plant out. It also self-spreads by tubers, so beds fill in on their own once established.
How far apart should I plant it for ground cover?
About 45 cm on center for a bed that knits together in a season. Tighter spacing closes the gap faster; wider spacing saves on plant count but takes longer to cover.
