Adiantum aleuticum

Western maidenhair fern

A deciduous maidenhair fern of western North America, with fan-shaped fronds on wiry dark stalks, found on moist rocky ground near streams and often on serpentine. It is very cold-hardy and needs a winter dormancy, so it is a garden or cold-frame fern rather than a houseplant.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Fertile, moist soil in rock crevices, talus and stream banks, seeps and shaded ravines. It is notably tolerant of serpentine rock and in some areas grows only on it; on sunny serpentine the fronds stand upright and look quite different from shade forms.

From sea level in the north up to about 3200 m in the south of its range. Few records carry an elevation, so this was not measured.

Alaska and Aleutian IslandsBritish Columbia and AlbertaUS Pacific Northwest and CaliforniaRocky MountainsNorthern MexicoNewfoundland, Québec and New England serpentine sites

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Adiantum aleuticum? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Adiantum

Adiantum pedatum Adiantum viridimontanum Adiantum capillus-veneris Adiantum atroviride Adiantum trapeziforme Adiantum aethiopicum Adiantum amblyopteridium Adiantum hispidulum Adiantum alarconianum Adiantum bellum Adiantum jordanii Adiantum lianxianense All 262 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.