General Information

COMMON NAMES: Southern Maidenhair-fern, Black Maidenhair Fern, Common Maidenhair, Venus Maidenhair, Venus-Hair Fern GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical and temperate, incl. rare Cooks - Tahiti; n. to England; s. to Mangaia; EXOTIC EXOTIC Circumglobal COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, OR Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only - Rarotonga & Mangaia (very rare); Land, esp. on limestone SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Very rareOrnamental fern KEY FEATURES: To 60cm, 2-3x divided (=pinnate). LEAFLETS (=pinnules) fan-shaped, with terminal edge with deep clefts; and veins ending in tips of lobes SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Adiantum raddianum.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+	+	+?	-	-		-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Adiantum capillus-veneris Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Pteridales; ADIANTACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
BIODIVERSITY: Very rare. Comment: On Rarotonga (one old record), and Mangaia in one place (cave inland of Ivirua).
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Ornamental fern

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: one old record only, pers.comm.J.Game 10/2005. Mangaia: specimen, 1996, Stella Rowe, inland Ivirua cave, with ID confirmed B.Sykes as Adiantum capillus-veneris, collected again from same place, J.Game ~1998, with ID as Adiantum capillus-veneris.

References:
p.17 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.24 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05b, zD02

Web Resources

• Google
• Google Images