Adiantum capillus-veneris | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Polypodiales |
Family: | Pteridaceae |
Genus: | Adiantum |
Species: | A. capillus-veneris |
Binomial name | |
Adiantum capillus-veneris | |
Adiantum capillus-veneris, the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, maidenhair fern, [3] and venus hair fern, is a species of ferns in the genus Adiantum and the family Pteridaceae [4] with a subcosmopolitan worldwide distribution. It is cultivated as a popular garden fern and houseplant. [5]
Adiantum capillus-veneris is native to the southern half of the United States from California to the Atlantic coast, through Mexico and Central America, to South America. It is also native to Eurasia, the Levant in Western Asia, and Australasia. [5] [6] [7] There are two disjunct occurrences in the northern part of North America: at Cascade Springs in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia. In both instances, the warm microclimate created by hot mineral springs permits the growth of the plant far north of its normal range. It is similar in Zvonce spa resort (Звоначка Бања, Zvonačka Banja), near Pirot in Serbia, where hot mineral springs provide adequate heat and humidity for the survival of this species. [8]
It is found in temperate climates from warm-temperate to tropical, where the moisture content is high but not saturating, in the moist, well-drained sand, loam or limestone of many habitats, including rainforests, shrub and woodlands, broadleaf and coniferous forests, and desert cliff seeps, and springs. It often may be seen growing on moist, sheltered and shaded sandstone or limestone formations, generally south-facing in the southern hemisphere, north-facing in the north, or in gorges. [5] It occurs throughout Africa in moist places by streams. [9] On moist sandstone cliffs it grows in full or partial shade, even when unprotected. [10]
Adiantum capillus-veneris grows from 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm) in height; its fronds arising in clusters from creeping rhizomes 8 to 27.5 in (20 to 70 cm) tall, with very delicate, light green fronds much subdivided into pinnae 0.2 to 0.4 in (5 to 10 mm) long and broad; the frond rachis is black and wiry. [5] [7]
Adiantum capillus-veneris is cultivated and widely available around the world for planting in natural landscape native plants and traditional shade gardens, for outdoor container gardens, and commonly as an indoor houseplant.
Adiantum × mairisii is a winter hardy hybrid of Adiantum capillus-veneris with another species, which is likely to be one of Adiantum raddianum, Adiantum aethiopicum, or Adiantum cuneatum. [11]
As a houseplant, Adiantum capillus-veneris requires filtered light and very humid conditions. It should be grown in soil rich in organic matter and should be watered frequently but lightly, to keep the roots damp but not drenched. The temperature should not fall below 12 °C (54 °F). It is propagated by dividing, making sure each clump has a section of rhizome. [12]
The fern is listed as an endangered species in North Carolina (as southern maidenhair-fern) and threatened species in Kentucky (as venus hair fern), due to loss of Appalachian habitat.
This plant is used medicinally by Native Americans. The Mahuna people use the plant internally for rheumatism, [13] and the Navajo people of Kayenta, AZ use an infusion of the plant as a lotion for bumblebee and centipede stings. [14] The Navajo people also smoke it or take it internally to treat mental illness. [14]
In the traditional medicine of Iran, frond infusion of Adiantum capillus-veneris is used for jaundice therapy. [15] Along with this, they have a wide range of medicinal uses and have been used to treat coughs, cold, and to aid in kidney function. [16]
Adiantum, the maidenhair fern, is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it in its own family, Adiantaceae. The genus name comes from Greek, meaning "unwetted", referring to the fronds' ability to shed water without becoming wet.
Dicksonia antarctica, the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania.
Polystichum munitum, the western swordfern, is an evergreen perennial fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with disjunctive populations in northern British Columbia, Canada; the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States; and Guadalupe Island off of Baja California, Mexico. Western swordfern is known to have locally naturalized in parts of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Huntsville Botanical Garden is a 118 acres (480,000 m2) botanical garden located at 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, Alabama, near the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. It is open year-round for a fee. The garden is ranked third on the list of Alabama's top paid tourist attractions, receiving 353,841 visitors in 2018.
Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera, divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recognized as separate families: the adiantoid, cheilanthoid, pteridoid, and hemionitidoid ferns. Relationships among these groups remain unclear, and although some recent genetic analyses of the Pteridales suggest that neither the family Pteridaceae nor the major groups within it are all monophyletic, as yet these analyses are insufficiently comprehensive and robust to provide good support for a revision of the order at the family level.
Adiantum aleuticum, the western maidenhair fern or Aleutian maidenhair, is a species of deciduous fern in the genus Adiantum.
Adiantum bellum is a species of fern in the family Pteridaceae, and is native to Bermuda.
Polypodium glycyrrhiza, commonly known as licorice fern, many-footed fern, and sweet root, is a summer deciduous fern native to western North America, where it is found in shaded, damp locations.
Asplenium trichomanes, the maidenhair spleenwort, is a small fern in the spleenwort genus Asplenium. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats. It is a variable fern with several subspecies.
Adiantum pedatum, the northern maidenhair fern or five-fingered fern, is a species of fern in the family Pteridaceae, native to moist forests in eastern North America. Like other ferns in the genus, the name maidenhair refers to the slender, shining black stipes.
Adiantum hispidulum, commonly known as rough maidenhair fern or five-fingered jack, is a small fern in the family Pteridaceae of widespread distribution. It is found in Africa, Australia, Polynesia, Malesia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands. Its fronds rise in clumps from rhizomes among rocks or in the soil in sheltered areas.
Adiantum aethiopicum, also known as the common maidenhair fern, is a small fern of widespread distribution, occurring in Africa, Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand.
Adiantum formosum, known as the giant maidenhair or black stem maidenhair is a fern found in Australia and New Zealand. It was one of the many species authored by Scottish botanist Robert Brown, appearing in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Its species name is the Latin adjective formosus "handsome" or "beautiful".
Adiantum viridimontanum, commonly known as Green Mountain maidenhair fern, is a fern found only in outcrops of serpentine rock in New England and Eastern Canada. The leaf blade is cut into finger-like segments, themselves once-divided, which are borne on the outer side of a curved, dark, glossy rachis. These finger-like segments are not individual leaves, but parts of a single compound leaf. The "fingers" may be drooping or erect, depending on whether the individual fern grows in shade or sunlight. Spores are borne under false indusia at the edge of the subdivisions of the leaf, a characteristic unique to the genus Adiantum.
Adiantum raddianum, the Delta maidenhair fern, is one of the most popular ferns to grow indoors. It is native to South America and its common name comes from its shiny, dark leafstalks that resemble human hair. It typically grows about 17–19 in (43–48 cm) tall and up to 22 in (56 cm) wide. In the wild, it is found on forest floors, rock crevices, river banks, coastal cliffs, and basalt banks along trails and streams. The triangular fronds are semi-erect in the beginning then droop gracefully as they age and can be up to 12 inches (30 cm) long by 6 inches (15 cm) wide. The genus name Adiantum comes from the Greek word "adiantos", meaning "unwetted".
Adiantum venustum, the evergreen maidenhair or Himalayan maidenhair, is a species of fern in the genus Adiantum of the family Pteridaceae, native to China and the Himalayas. It is a slow to establish plant that usually grows on moist rocks and soil with a good amount of humus and dead leaves. It is very hardy, largely evergreen to -10 °C, when it becomes deciduous. It is also known as black Hansraj in India for its black stalks at the fronds.
See also Zuni ethnobotany, and Native American ethnobotany.
Adiantum caudatum, commonly walking maidenhair, tailed maidenhair, trailing maidenhair is a fern in the genus Adiantum and the family Pteridaceae.
Adiantum × mairisii is a species of fern in the family Pteridaceae.
Adiantum concinnum, locally known as cilantrillo, culantrillo, or the maidenhair fern is a rhizomatous geophyte used as a local herbal medicine in many South and Central American cultures.