Editing Platycerium (section)

==Description==
''Platycerium'' [[sporophyte]]s (adult plants) have tufted roots,  growing from a short rhizome, and bear two types of fronds - [[Frond dimorphism|basal and fertile fronds]]. Basal fronds are sterile, shield- or kidney-shaped, and laminate against the tree, to protect the fern's roots from damage and desiccation. In some ''Platycerium'' species, the top margin of these fronds will grow into an open crown of lobes; catching rainwater, falling forest litter, bird/animal droppings, and even an occasional fallen deceased animal, these plants build up their own “[[compost]]” system of nutrition over many years.

Fertile fronds bear spores on their undersurface, are [[dichotomous branching|dichotomous]] or antler-shaped, and jut out or hang from the rhizome. The spores are borne in [[sporangia]], clustered in large sori that are usually positioned on the tips of the lobes, on a specialized stalked lobe (as in ''P. ridleyi'' and ''P. coronarium''), or at the sinus between frond lobes. <ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2989731| last1 = Hoshizaki| first1 = Barbara Joe | title = Morphology and Phylogeny of Platycerium Species | journal = Biotropica | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | year = 1972 | pages = 93–117 | jstor = 2989731| bibcode = 1972Biotr...4...93H}}</ref>

Some species of ''Platycerium'' are solitary, having only one rhizome. Other species form colonies when their rhizomes branch, or when new rhizomes are formed from root tips. If the conditions are right, the spores will germinate naturally, on surrounding trees. A ''Platycerium'' [[gametophyte]] is a small, heart-shaped [[thallus]].

''Platycerium'' have diverged into four natural groups. Several ''Platycerium'' are strongly adapted to [[xeric]] conditions, with a  naturally drought-tolerant [[Crassulacean acid metabolism|metabolism method]] having been reported for ''P.&nbsp;veitchii''.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.3732/ajb.93.2.217 | issn = 0002-9122 | volume = 93 | issue = 2 | pages = 217–225 | first1 = Hans-Peter | last1 = Kreier | first2 = Harald | last2 = Schneider | title = Phylogeny and biogeography of the staghorn fern genus Platycerium (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiidae) | journal = American Journal of Botany | year=2006 | pmid = 21646182 }}</ref>