Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate deciduous forest
Range: Eastern North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A woodland fern with delicate, horseshoe-shaped fronds held on slender, glossy black stalks. Each frond arcs out from a central point like fingers on a hand, giving the species its genus name from the Greek word for "unwetted" -- its fronds shed water without staying damp.

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.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Genus: Adiantum
Species: Adiantum pedatum