Adiantum shastense

Shasta maidenhair fern

A northern Californian maidenhair split from the Adiantum capillus-veneris/jordanii group in 2015 (Huiet & Smith, PhytoKeys). It grows around Shasta Lake and the southern Klamath foothills in a Mediterranean climate with cold, wet winters and very hot, bone-dry summers, surviving on shaded, seepy rock. It is not a tropical houseplant: it needs a cool winter and a dry summer rest.

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

On shaded, moist rock faces, seeps and banks in the foothills around Shasta Lake, reportedly often on limestone. Seepage keeps the roots damp into summer while the surrounding hillsides dry out.

Recorded from 330 to 2580 m, median 366 m (95 records); most sites are low foothills.

California

🔒 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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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.