Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

The black maidenhair fern grows delicate, fan-shaped leaflets on wiry dark stems that repel water so effectively that fronds emerge bone-dry even after rain — a property encoded in the genus name Adiantum, from the Greek for "not wetting." It thrives in moist, shaded crevices on limestone cliffs and canyon walls across the globe.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Genus: Adiantum
Species: Adiantum capillus-veneris