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Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Ferns Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Common Maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris)

General: Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) is a black-stemmed, green-leaved fern that one would not expect to find in the desert. The fronds are actually large and pinnately compound, but the individual leaflets are small (1/2 to 3/4-inch across), fan-shaped, and notched at the end.

Common Maidenhair is an uncommon component of vegetation communities in shaded wet areas such as seeps and springs in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats), Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland), and Transition (Yellow Pine Forest) life zones. Look for this species in damp soil under boulders and on shaded cliffs around seeps and springs.

Common Maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris)

Family: Brake (Pteridaceae).

Other Names: Maiden-Hair Fern

Plant Form: Multiple leaves (stems) from a rhizomatous base, often hanging from the crack in a cliff.

Height: To about 1 foot when upright, usually hanging down.

Stems: Petiole blackish.

Leaves: Entire leaves to about 16 inches with blackish petiole and central rib. Leaf pinnately-compound. Individual leaflets small (1/2 to 3/4-inch across), fan-shaped, notched at the end.

Habitat: Moist, shady areas along steeps, springs, and creeks.

Common Maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Leaflets fan-shaped, notched at the end

Elevation: To about 6,500 feet.

Distribution: Occurs across the southern U.S.

Comments: This species can be found in abundance in lower Goldstrike Canyon (Lake Mead NRA). It can also be found at springs in Red Rocks, Zion, and the Grand Canyon.

Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern leaves
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern at a wet spring
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern at same spring after the water dried up
Common Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Common Maidenhair Fern after the water dried up

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
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