The fronds of Microsorum musifolium are the reason this fern has a common name that will stick. Glossy, leathery, and deeply textured in a pattern that genuinely resembles reptile skin, each lanceolate frond grows up to 2 feet long as a houseplant and up to 4 feet in its native tropical rainforest, where it grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks from southern Myanmar through to New Guinea. The genus name signals its botany directly — mikros for small, soros for the spore cases found along the undersides of its veins.

Indoors, it asks for bright indirect light, high humidity, and temperatures held between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with an aversion to cold drafts and sudden temperature swings. Water when the surface feels dry, ideally with rainwater or distilled water rather than tap. Monthly feeding at half strength through spring and summer supports good growth; division in spring or early summer propagates it reliably. The fronds scorch in direct sun and develop brown edges in dry air or when watered with chlorinated tap water — both problems easy enough to avoid with attention to placement and watering habits. In warmer climates, zones 10 and 11, it can move outdoors to a shaded garden or patio.