ESSEX BOTANY AND MYCOLOGY GROUPS |
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Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Maidenhair Fern
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Light 4. Wetness 7. pH 6-9. Fertility 3. Height <40cm Casual.
Native. This delicate frost intolerant fern is more at home around the Meditteranean, being confined as a native in this country to wet, sheltered, limestone rocks around, or seldom far, from the coasts of the south-west and west of England, and Ireland, but it is a favourite fern of greenhouses and sheltered gardens and often escapes temporarily to calcareous sheltered walls. In this habitat the drooping fronds seldom exceed 15-20cm. The fronds consist of very fine, dark, wiry branches that arise from a long stipe, and divide with an irregular, intricate mixture of pinnate and dichotomous branching, each finally terminating in a small 0.5 to 3.0cm fan to kidney-shaped bright green segment with a wavy outer margin.
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