Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

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Adiantum aleuticum

Maidenhair Fern

At a Glance: This delicate, deciduous fern has five to seven fingerlike branchlets each bearing many toothed leaflets.

Height: 1-2 feet tall.
Growth Form: Herb.
Stems: The wiry stems are dark-brown to purplish.
Leaves: Leaves are delicate and palmately branched to form an open umbrella with fan-shaped segments that are smooth and flat on the lower margin and cleft into ragged rectangular lobes on the upper margin (Pojar, 425); size: 10-40 cm (4-16 in) across; color: green.
Flowers: None; produces spores on edges of undersides of leaflets.
Flowering Period: none.


Photo © 2003, Starflower Foundation

Sun/Shade Tolerance	Hydrology	Elevation Range
Prefers cool, shady sites. full sun > 80% mostly sunny 60%-80% partial sun and shade 40%- 60% mostly shady 60%-80% full shade > 80%	Prefers moist soils. wet moist dry Wetland Indicator Status:	low elevation mid elevation sub-alpine high elevation

Soil Preferences
Prefers humus rich soils.
sandy soils gravelly soils clay soils muddy soils peaty soils	well drained soils shallow soils deep soils acidic soils basic soils	humic soils nutrient rich soils nutrient poor soils mineral soils organic soils

Habitat Preferences
Aquatic and Wetland: Ponds or lakes Shallow pools Sloughs Swales or wet ditches Seasonally inundated areas Marshes or swamps Aquatic bed wetlands Emergent wetlands Scrub-shrub wetlands Forested wetlands Bogs, fens Seeps, springs Shorelines and Riparian: Lake shores Bog margins Streams or rivers Stream or river banks Riparian corridors River bars Floodplains Bottomlands Alluvial areas	Saltwater Areas: In or near saltwater Mud flats Tidal areas Estuaries Saltmarshes Brackish water Seashores Coastal dunes or beaches Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Coastal bluffs Cliffs Rocky slopes Outcrops Crevices Glacial outwash Gullies Slide areas Sub-alpine and Alpine: Heaths Snow beds Tundra Avalanche tracks	Forests and Thickets: Forests and woods Open forests Coniferous forests Old growth forests Deciduous forests Mixed forests Nurse logs Forest edges, openings, or clearings Thickets Meadows and Fields: Pastures or fields Meadows or grassy areas Mossy areas Disturbed Areas: Roadsides Trailsides Logged sites Burned areas Disturbed sites

Wildlife Value

(data not available)

Ethnobotanical Uses and Other Facts

(data not available)

Suggested References

Jacobson A.L. 2001. Wild Plants of Greater Seattle. Published by author. Page 378.
Kruckeberg, A.R. 1996. 2nd ed. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Page 132.
Lyons, C., W. Merilees. Trees and Shrubs to Know in Washington and British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing. Page 348.
Pojar, J., A. Mackinnon. 1994. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Lone Pine Publishing. Page 425.

The landscaping and restoration information provided on this page is taken from Starflower Foundation Image Herbarium. All photographs © Starflower Foundation unless otherwise noted.