Species · genus Adiantum · Pteridaceae

Maidenhair Fern

Adiantum capillus-veneris L.

Also known as: Southern Maidenhair · Venus' Hair-fern · Venus's Hair Fern · Venus's Maidenhair · Black Maidenhair

Growth habit

perennial or lithophyte

Native range

Afghanistan, Alabama, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Arizona, Arkansas, Assam, Azores, Bahamas, Baleares, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, British Columbia, Bulgaria, California, Cambodia, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile Central, Chile North, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colorado, Comoros, Corse, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, DR Congo, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Florida, France, Free State, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Gulf States, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Kenya, Korea, Kriti, Krym, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Libya, Louisiana, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Maryland, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Missouri, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, Nevada, New Caledonia, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, Niger, Nigeria, North Carolina, North Caucasus, Northern Territory, NW. Balkan Pen., Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Rodrigues, Réunion, Samoa, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sicilia, Sinai, Society Is., Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, South Carolina, South Dakota, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan-South Sudan, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Tonga, Transcaucasus, Trinidad-Tobago, Tubuai Is., Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uganda, Utah, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Victoria, Vietnam, Virginia, West Himalaya, Western Australia, Windward Is., Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Reference · A. capillus-veneris

Cultivars of A. capillus-veneris

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. capillus-veneris yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

The maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) grows on damp, shaded rock and seepage faces across a wide range, often as a lithophyte near constant moisture. It wants consistently moist (never waterlogged) mix and high humidity; water when the surface just begins to feel dry, roughly every 2 to 5 days, and do not let the rootball dry out fully or the fronds will crisp. Give it bright indirect light out of direct sun.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 2-5d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 5 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

15–24 °C

Soil mix

Rich, moist, well-draining mix with added grit

Propagation

Division of the rhizome, or spores

Fertilizing

Weak balanced feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Ferns don't flower — reproduce by spores

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 2-5d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Maidenhair Fern yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.