Species name :

Adiantum capillus-venerisL.
Published in Sp. Pl. 1096 (1753)

Synonyms :

Basionym or principal synonym: Adiantum michelii

Full list of synonyms : [ Euro+Med ]   [ PlantList ]   [ IPNI ]   [ Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Pteridaceae The Fern Family 4 Pteridaceae species recorded from Malta.
E.D.M. Kirchn

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 (Creeping plants)
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

All Year

Colour of Flowers:

Inc or Dark

Habitat :

Caves, wells, and moist rocks in shaded valleys, also along damp walls or buildings within urban areas

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.'

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.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - 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]