| |
|
 | |
| MaltaWildPlants.com by Stephen Mifsud |
|
| |
|
|
 |  |  |  |
| External Links: |
|
Adiantum capillus-veneris (Maidenhair Fern) |
Adiantum capillus-veneris (PTERIDACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000. |
|
| Nomenclature and Basic Information |
Species name : |
Adiantum capillus-venerisL.
Published in Sp. Pl. 1096 (1753) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
|
Plant Family : |
Pteridaceae
E.D.M. Kirchn (The Fern Family)
4 species from the Pteridaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Maidenhair Fern, Black Maiden Fern, Venus Hairfern |
Maltese name(s) : |
Tursin il-Bir |
Status for Malta : |
Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: HEMICRYPTOPHYTE ( prostate plants with flowers close to the ground )
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (25/Sep/2021) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
All Year |
Colour of Flowers: |
Inconspicuous or Dark |
Name Derivation : |
Adiantum: from the Greek 'adiantos', meaning not becoming wet or avoiding water (waterproof), and referring to the way the fronds repel water and never seem to be soaking wet. (Greek origin )
capillus-veneris:
|
Remarks : |
Found in damp and shaded places, most often in caves and cracks at rocky sides of valley bottoms. In the past, it was also common in the inner walls of water wells, and hence the Maltese name 'Tursin il-Bir.' |
|
|
Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Habitat in Europe: |
Damp rocks, often on calcareous tufa, caves and rock crevices, sometimes on humid or wet walls | |
Preferred habitat in Malta: |
Caves, wells, and moist rocks in shaded valleys, also along damp walls or buildings within urban areas | |
Botanical Description: |
Leaves 10-60 cm, 2- or 3-pinnate, flabellately branched, ovate to ovate-lanceolate; petiole up to 25 cm, black and shining; lamina bright green, of thin, delicate texture, glabrous. Pinnules (0.5-)1-3 cm wide, cuneate, flabellate, on fine capillary stalks, obtusely lobed, variable in depth of lobing; veins of sterile segments ending in teeth. Pseudoindusia more or less oblong, between sinuses. | |
Chromosome number: |
2n=60 | |
Distributional range: |
W. & S. Europe. |
Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018): |
|
Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993): |
Albania, the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part), Introduced in Belgium, Hungary |
Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(from Euro+Med Checklist, 2019)
Country codes
|
Ab(A N) AE(G) Ag Al Ar Az(F G J L M P S T) BH Bl(I M N) Br Bu Ca(C F G H L P T) Cg Co Cr Ct Cy Eg Ga(C F M) Gg(D G) Gr Hb(E) He Hs(G S) Ir It Jo Le Li Lu Ma Md(D M P) Mk Rf(CS) Sa Si(M S) Sl Sn Sy Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K) [Be aBe(B) aGe Hb(N) aHo Hu Sk] |
|
| | |
Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution map
