White Dust Like Substance On Fronds Of Staghorn Fern

Question

I started washing the leaves with damp cloth and looks a little like cotton-y substance or white dust.

Answer 1

It could be powdery mildew, a fungus, which looks like a white coating. Mealy bugs are a type of scale insect and have a cottony appearance which can develop on ferns grown in low light. Also, the fronds normally are covered with silvery hairs; could that be what you see?

Here is more:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/fern-scale-insect

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/powdery-mildew-treatment.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/staghorn-fern/cleaning-staghorn-ferns.htm

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/staghorn-fern/

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/staghorn-fern/staghorn-fern-outdoor-care.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/staghorn-fern/staghorn-fern-information.htm

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/06/02/fact-sheet-staghorn-ferns/