Adiantum

This article is about the plant. For the cipher, see Adiantum (cipher).

Adiantum
Western five-fingered fern (Adiantum aleuticum)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Subfamily: Vittarioideae
Genus: Adiantum
L.
Type species
Adiantum capillus-veneris
L.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Hewardia Smith 1841 non Hooker 1851

Adiantum (/ˌædiˈæntəm/),[1] the maidenhair fern (not to be confused with the similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort fern), is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae,[2] though some researchers place it in its own family, Adiantaceae. The genus name comes from Greek, meaning "unwetted", referring to the fronds' ability to shed water without becoming wet.

  1. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Christenhusz-2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).