Adiantum balfourii

A small maidenhair of arid north-east Africa and Socotra, named after Isaac Bayley Balfour, who collected on Socotra. In a hot, dry landscape it survives only where water seeps: shaded, dripping rock faces, spring-fed crevices and the banks of wadis. In cultivation, give it a wet root run and shade, and bright light rather than dim.

At home, aim for

Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

On moist, shaded rocks at seepages and springs, in ravines and along watercourses in otherwise arid country.

The records carry few elevations. The Djibouti and Eritrean sites lie in low to mid-elevation hills; on Socotra such seeps occur up into the granite mountains.

DjiboutiEritreaEthiopiaSocotraSudan-South Sudan

🔒 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

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.