Southern Maiden Hair, Adiantum capillus-veneris

About Southern Maiden Hair (Adiantum capillus-veneris) 29 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The Southern Maiden Hair is a species of fern with a semi-worldwide distribution. It occurs in numerous locations and habitats throughout California, always growing where it is somewhat shaded and in moist but not saturated soil. It is often found near springs, seeps or stream banks, including desert palm oases. This native fern is hardy to USDA zone 7.

The Southern Maiden Hair fern grows 6 to 28 inches tall and 6 to 24 inches wide. The foliage is delicate and lacy, featuring dark stripes that accentuate the green leaves. Like most ferns, it forms a basal clump that will gradually grow outward in size if there is space. This fern can go summer dormant if it becomes too dry and/or receives too much direct sunlight, but usually regenerates new foliage after supportive conditions return.
This fern is also commonly grown as a houseplant.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Fern

Size

0.23 - 1.7 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form

Upright, Fountain

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Shade, Part Shade

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Keep moist, Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 29

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Best in moist loamy soil, tolerates clay. Soil PH: 4.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Groundcovers

Companion Plants

Trees - Alders (Alnus species), Oaks (Quercus species), Cottonwood (Populus species), Ponderosa Pine, California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)

Other shade plants - Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant), Horsetails (Equisetum species), Polypody Ferns (Polypodium species), Sword Ferns (Polystichum species), Giant Chain Fern (Woodwardia fimbriata), Meadow Rue (Thalictrum species), Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii), Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa), Monkeyflowers (Mimulus cardinalis or M. guttatus)

Sunset Zones?

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Rocky streambanks, springs, seeps, and other moist but not saturated areas, usually with part shade or full shade

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 3.7" - 92.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 3.12", Coldest Month: 32.3" - 60.7", Hottest Month: 57.5" - 87.8", Humidity: 0.78" - 40.33", Elevation: 3" - 7419"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Common Maidenhair Fern, Southern Maiden-hair, Venus Hair, Venus-hair Fern

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Southern Maiden Hair

Adiantum capillus-veneris

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Southern Maiden HairAdiantum capillus-veneris

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Southern Maiden Hair

Adiantum capillus-veneris