Crispy wave Bird's Nest Fern Botanically known as Asplenium nidus, crispy wave plant. The Crispy Wave Fern is a cultivar of the popular houseplant species Asplenium nidus. ... Or it also goes by ???Bird's Nest Fern??? for the way the leaves radiate outward, leaving a leafy basin in the centre. Despite the fact that Asplenium nidus can grow fairly large, it's actually an effective epiphyte.