Adiantum pedatum
(Maidenhair Fern)
Family - Pteridaceae
Category - Fern
Origin - Eastern North America, Eastern Asia
Year of Introduction - 1656
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H6
Height - 30cm or more
Width - 30cm or more
Location - The Spring Garden, The Stumpery
Description: An elegant Deciduous, rhizomatous fern with a very delicate appearance. Fine, finger-like fronds are pinnate and have pale to mid-green pinnae (leaflets). The fronds are held on slender, glossy dark stems and are arranged in fans. The spores are held in small, rounded sori on the undersides of the pinnae.
Additional common names - Eastern Maidenhair, Five-fingered Maidenhair Fern, American Maidenhair Fern
Flower:
Spores are held in rounded sori on the undersides of the pinnae.
Foliage:
Fine, elegant fronds are pinnate with delicate looking, oblong pinnae (leaflets). The pinnae are pale to mid-green and are very subtly serrate around the margins. The finger-like fronds are arranged in a fan on slender, dark, glossy stems.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Pinnate with oblong pinnae
Propagation:
Division, spores.
Cultivation:
Best in partial, dappled shade in fertile, moisture retentive soil that is well drained.