Darryl Ruprecht self-published his first book in June of 2021. Darryl is a former serving soldier of the Australian Defence Force who served in the Regular Army for 22 years, attaining the rank of Warrant Officer Class Two.
Having retired from the Army, along with his wife Karen, owned—and experienced the challenges of successfully running small family businesses. Enthusiastic about staghorn ferns, Darryl extensively researched the Platycerium species by consulting leading experts in Australia and travelled widely throughout the rain forests of Australia and the jungles and forests of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to produce this comprehensive guide to the Australian staghorn, Platycerium superbum.
Rather than being another technical gardening manual, King of the ferns: the Australian staghorn experience is conversational and easy to read. Darryl provides a quick ‘ready reference’ of tried and tested ideas, techniques and processes to help other enthusiasts to successfully grow staghorns from spore through to adult Platy’s.
Widely regarded as the first book of its kind, focusing solely on our Australian staghorn, this book will also assist other enthusiasts, no matter what the Platycerium species.
If you enjoy staghorns and wish to either expand your knowledge or just want to learn more about how to care for them; I hope that King of the Ferns provides you with inspiration and the information you need to achieve the best from your Platycerium.