Calochlaena dubia, commonly known as Soft Bracken, False Bracken, Common Ground Fern, or Rainbow Fern, is a perennial herbaceous fern native to the understory of moist, shaded forests and gullies in eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It is a small fern with fronds that arise from thick, brown-haired rhizomes, typically reaching 0.4 to 1.5 meters in height. The fronds are triangular and bipinnate, giving them a delicate, lacy appearance. This fern does not produce flowers but reproduces via spores that are distributed in sori located on the underside of the fronds.

Soft Bracken is valued for its lush, green foliage that provides a tropical feel to shaded garden areas. It is an excellent choice for ground cover in shaded parts of the garden, and its ability to thrive in low-light conditions makes it suitable for indoor cultivation as well. In terms of care, it prefers consistently moist soil with good drainage and can tolerate a range of soil types, from sandy to loamy. While it does best in full to part shade, it can also adapt to brighter conditions if kept sufficiently moist. It is relatively low-maintenance, but gardeners should be vigilant for common fern pests such as scale insects and mealybugs.CC BY-SA 4.0