Adiantum formosum

Giant maidenhair

A large maidenhair fern from eastern Australia and a few relict sites in New Zealand's North Island. It has fronds up to 1.2 m or more on shiny black stalks, and its creeping rhizome runs deep into alluvial soil. It forms colonies in shaded stream flats and gorge sides, and is easy to grow in a large, deep container or a sheltered woodland garden.

Adiantum formosum — Photo: Poyt448 Peter Woodard, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Moist rainforest and open eucalypt forest, especially on alluvial flats near streams, where it forms large colonies. In New Zealand it grows in alluvial forest and on the sides of gorges in shade, often among drifts of leaf litter with little other vegetation. It rarely grows in full sun.

Mainly lowland and foothill valleys, from near sea level to low ranges. The sources we used give no altitude limits.

QueenslandNew South WalesVictoriaNew Zealand North Island

🔒 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 CC0 licence, unmodified.