Adiantum philippense

Walking maidenhair fern

A widespread tropical maidenhair with arching, once-divided fronds of smooth, half-moon-shaped pinnae. Its frond tips root where they touch the ground, which is why it is called the walking maidenhair. It grows on shaded stream banks, rocks and moist ravine sides in forest and woodland, and is one of the easier tropical maidenhairs to keep if it never dries out.

At home, aim for

Day Warm-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 in the ground

Where it grows wild

Shaded, moist sites in forest, thickets and wooded ravines: stream banks, earth banks and rocks, often near water. Fronds arch outward and root at their tips, so plants spread across banks as small colonies.

Mostly lowland to lower montane; about 200–1500 m is recorded in Central America, and in Asia it occurs from near sea level into the hills.

Tropical and subtropical Asia: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Philippines, MalesiaTropical AfricaNorthern AustraliaTropical America (under the broad concept that includes A. lunulatum)

🔒 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 philippense? 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 aleuticum Adiantum atroviride Adiantum trapeziforme Adiantum aethiopicum Adiantum amblyopteridium Adiantum hispidulum Adiantum alarconianum Adiantum bellum Adiantum jordanii All 262 →

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 CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.