Pteris cretica subsp.
cretica is native in an area from the Mediterranean to tropical Asia, in Africa, in Madagascar and on the Atlantic islands. There are findings in Gran Canaria, Spain, France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy (Lake Como and Lake Garda), Switzerland (Ticino on the shores of Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore), Crimea, Greece (contrary to its name,
Pteris cretica does not occur on Crete), Transcaucasia, Turkey, Lebanon-Syria. In Africa it is native in Yemen, Socotra, Algeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Zaïre, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Madagascar. In Asia it occurs in Sri Lanka, India, Assam, Pakistan, Himalaya, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet, China (North-Central, South-Central, Southeast), Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nanshoto, Philippines, Ascension, Réunion.
Pteris cretica is a
neophyte introduced into the USA distributed via Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Islands to Colombia and Peru, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, the Azores. It is a neophyte in Great Britain, Hungary and the Netherlands. The other subspecies
Pteris cretica subsp.
laeta is native in an area from East Turkey to tropical and subtropical Asia, the Indian subcontinent: Afghanistan, Assam, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, India, Iran, Japan, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Vietnam and West Himalaya. ==Cultivation==