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Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris
ホウライシダ
A tropical to subtropical fern, native in the Nansei Islands, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan, and widely cultivated as a houseplant. Known by its genus name Adiantum, it is admired for its delicate beauty—fine dark stipes and fan-shaped pinnules.
Identification Points
- ✓Stipes and rachises black and glossy
- ✓Pinnules fan-shaped with sori along the margins
- ✓Very delicate and graceful appearance
Habitat
Moist rock walls, ravines, and indoors as a houseplant
Season
Year-round (evergreen)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Phylogenetic Positionホウライシダ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Vascular plants > Polypodiophyta > Polypodiopsida > Polypodiales > Adiantaceae
Divergence Era
Cretaceous (ca. 100 million years ago–)
Evolution Notes
Adiantaceae fronds possess a special water-repellent surface structure (lotus effect), where water does not adhere even when wetted. This property is reflected in the generic name 'Adiantum' (meaning 'unwetted').
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification