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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Northern Maiden-hair Fern
Adiantum pedatum L.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Fern (Polypodiaceae)
Spores: June-September
Field Marks: This distinctive fern has purple-black leaf stalks and the leaf segments oblong and asymmetrical, with the upper edge of each leaf segment curved back over the spore-bearing structures.
Habitat: Rich woods, rocky ledges.
Habit: Erect perennial with slender rhizomes.
Stems: All stems underground, rhizomatous.
Leaves: Usually twice divided, formed along the upper side of a curved axis, each segment oblong and asymmetrical, usually with teeth and a few round lobes. thin and membranaceous, up to 1 inch long and up to 1 inch wide; stalks purple-black.
Spores: Formed in a line along the upper edge of the leaf and covered by the recurved edge of the leaf.
Notes: This fern derives its name of maidenhair from the leaf segments that have a resemblance to the leaves of the maidenhair, or ginkgo, tree.

Previous Species -- Southern Maiden-hair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris )
Return to Species List -- Group 1
Next Species -- Subarctic Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)

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URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/1/adiapeda.htm
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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:23:30 EST
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