Maidenhair Fern Adiantum raddianum
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- ae-dee-AN-tum rad-dee-AE-num
- Description
-
A deciduous, clump-forming, perennial fern native to the Tropical Americas and West Indies. Genus name comes from the Greek word adiantos meaning unwetted in reference to the water repellent foliage. Specific epithet references Italian botanist Giuseppe Raddi.
Partial shade to shade, but loses vitality in too much shade. Needs moist to wet soil and should not be allowed to dry out. Spreads by rhizomes. Needs humidity and, if grown as a houseplant, does well if kept in bathrooms.
Rhizome short, widely creeping.
Quick ID Hints:
- Fronds decompound, membraneous, in flat planes
- Pinnae in flat planes
- Pinnules triangular, lobed
- Sori marginal covered by revolute marginal flap
- Stipe & rachis wiry, black
VIDEO Created by NC State Extension's Homegrown series featuring Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Brilliantelse'
- ‘Fritz Lüthi’
- ‘Kensington Gem’
- 'Brilliantelse'
- 'Brilliantelse', ‘Fritz Lüthi’, ‘Kensington Gem’
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Brilliantelse'
- ‘Fritz Lüthi’
- ‘Kensington Gem’
- 'Brilliantelse'
- 'Brilliantelse', ‘Fritz Lüthi’, ‘Kensington Gem’
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Adiantum
- Species:
- raddianum
- Family:
- Pteridaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Tropical Americas and West Indies
- Distribution:
- Tropical Americas and West Indies
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- This plant is seldom damaged by deer.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Fern
- Houseplant
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Clumping
- Creeping
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 9b, 10a, 10b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- No fruit; reproduces via spores
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- No flowers.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Fronds
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Other/more complex
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Delicate, lace-likec lustered fronds, clump forming. 1-5-pinnate, arching, weakly glaucous beneath, membraneous; pinnae often decompound, flabellately branched; pinnules/leaflets somewhat triangular, broadly cuneate, lobed, sterile lobes cut deeply; stipe/petiole wiry, shiny black or tinged purple. SORI round to elongated, covered my revolute pinnule marginal flap.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Black
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Container
- Houseplants
- Patio
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
