Distinctive features of the plant, places of origin, species, advice on agricultural technology and reproduction, possible difficulties in growing maidenhair, interesting facts. Adiantum is a representative of an extensive genus of ferns that are part of the monotypic family of Adiantaceae (C Presl) Ching) or as it is often included in the Pteridaceae family. About 200 more varieties are also listed there.
The plant took its name from the merger of the Greek words "a" and "diaino", which respectively mean "not" and "wet", that is, "not wet" or "not wet" Why was the maidenhair given such an interesting name? This is due to the peculiarity of its sheet plates, which never get wet from moisture falling on their surface, that is, they have water-repellent properties.
The maidenhair for its growth chose mainly territories where a tropical climate prevails. All species of this plant are usually divided into two groups, which include maidenhair similar in appearance - these are mountainous areas in the South of the American continent (Andes) and areas in the east of Asia (mainly these are varieties belonging to the Chinese flora, where their number reaches 39 units) … The plant perfectly tolerates tropical, subtropical and temperate climates.
Basically, maidenhair chooses soils rich in nutrients and moisture, with good drainage, which are so often found on rock surfaces, on the banks of waterfalls and waterways. On the territory of immense Russia, most of all there are only two varieties of maidenhair - "Venus hair" (Adiantum capollus-veneris) and foot (Adiantum pedatum) and interest in such fern plants appeared only at the end of the 19th century.
The plant is a medium-sized ferns with creeping rhizomes. They are covered with matte scales, painted in brown or black tones.
Leaf plates are located on the shoots in an opposite or regular order. The petioles of the leaves are glossy, dark in color, also covered with scales. The leaf is wide in shape with a strong dissection (once or repeatedly pinnate). Leaf segments are fan-shaped, and each has obovate outlines, the shape of trapeziums or wedges is found. The surface is smooth, painted in green, in rare cases, bluish tones.
On the leaves, namely on the segments, on the reverse side along the veins, brownish dots in the form of a filmy false cover are visible. It is a modified continuation of the blade edge of the leaf blade. This is how sori with sporangia look like, which take on a rounded, oblong or linear shape. Sorus translated from Greek means "burial urn" and represents spores, located in a twisted form in groups or reproductive organs, sexless - sporangia or gametangia.
Agricultural technology for growing maidenhair, care
- Lighting. The plant prefers partial shade, grows well on the windows of the northern location, since the leaves die off from the bright light.
- Content temperature. It is best to adhere to indicators of 21 degrees in summer, but in dry air, the maidenhair can endure 22. In winter, you can lower the temperature to 15-20 degrees, but not lower than 10, otherwise the fronds will die off.
- Watering and humidification. Bottom watering is required, the soil should not be overdried or waterlogged. Frequent spraying is recommended. Humidifiers can be used. Soft and room water is recommended.
- Fertilizers. Fertilizers for indoor plants are introduced in a half dose in the summer, once every 3 weeks when watering.
- Transplant of the maidenhair. They change the pot and soil for the plant in spring, when it is young or if the pot is already cramped for it. But this procedure is carried out only after the maidenhair began to actively develop. The soil mixture is composed of sod soil, leafy soil, peat and river sand, all parts are equal. Neatness is necessary with the roots, the soil does not compact. It is recommended to add small shards or crushed charcoal to it. After the transplant, the maidenhair will need to be watered and sprayed. The fern container should be wide.
Self-breeding fern at home
It is possible to get a new maidenhair bush by dividing it or by planting spores.
When dividing a bush, if it has grown enough, time is selected in the spring months during the transplant procedure. After removing the plant from the pot, it is carefully divided by hand. But it is important to pay attention to the number of growth points. If such a point is the only one or there are very few of them, then it is better not to risk your green wards, as this can lead to death. If there are still a lot of points, then it is necessary to carefully divide the bush into divisions and plant each in a separate container filled with a moistened substrate. Young plants start growing rather quickly.
Propagating maidenhair spores is more difficult. These spores can be seen on the underside of the leaves. Spores are sown in the first spring month, and for this a nursery is used, which will be heated from below, and a temperature of 21 degrees will be maintained there.
To collect spores, you will need to cut off a leaf blade and scrape the spores onto paper. A layer of drainage and disinfected soil is poured into the nursery for planting seeds. The substrate is thoroughly moistened, and the spores are evenly scattered over its surface. The container will need to be covered with glass or wrapped in a plastic bag. The nursery is placed in a warm and dark place. It is necessary to carry out 15 minutes of airing every day and make sure that the soil does not dry out. The container is kept in the dark until the plants develop, usually after 4-12 weeks. Then the container is transferred to a lighted area and the cover is removed. When young adiantums grow up, you will need to thin them out. Leave only the strongest specimens at a distance of 2.5 cm from each other. After some time, plants that have already grown up and will look strong are transplanted in separate containers with peat soil, 2-3 seedlings together.
When the shrub is healthy and the sporulation period comes, then brown dots or stripes appear on the back of the leaves.
Difficulties in growing maidenhair
Most often, the plant is attacked by scale insects, aphids or mealybugs. To combat them, insecticidal preparations are used.
Of the troubles, one can single out:
- If the air is too dry, the leaves of the plant turn yellow at the very base, spotting appears and then the leaf falls off.
- Also, with low humidity, the ends of the wai (shoots) dry out.
- If watering has not been adjusted, then the leaves of the maidenhair become lethargic.
- If the sun's rays shone on the leaves for a long time during lunch hours, then their color will turn pale, and traces of burns will appear, it is necessary to shade the plant from 12 to 16 hours in the summer months.
- When a fern has been exposed to hypothermia or a draft at high humidity of the substrate, then its leaves curl, but do not dry out. You will need to move the pot to a warm place and do not moisten the soil until it dries on top.
Interesting facts about maidenhair
Memories of the maidenhair were found in documents as early as the 70s of our era, in the works of the ancient Roman erudite writer Pliny the Elder. He compared the delicate foliage of a plant with the curls of a beautiful woman, and doctors began to confidently recommend maidenhair tinctures for treating hair. And in our time, on the lands of the Caucasus, it is customary to rinse curls with tincture of this representative of ferns, so that the curls look shiny, and their growth accelerates.
The energy of the maidenhair is very strong, despite the fact that it gives the impression of extreme tenderness and fragility. He brings powerful life energy into the house, characterized by bright positive currents. It is believed that the house in which this fern grows will always be filled with an atmosphere of love and mutual understanding. The maidenhair is especially supportive of the female sex. Its shoots, which resemble the refined hair of a girl, will successfully help the owner withstand vicissitudes, since they themselves are distinguished by their inflexible and persistent appearance. Also, since the plant is not poisonous, then you can place it anywhere, both a kitchen and a living room, an office or a children's room are suitable.
The maidenhair also has medicinal power; the plant's leaf blades are included in the pharmacopoeias of several Western European countries. If we talk about the properties of the plant as an antibiotic, then its water extract is used. Also, on the basis of this plant, you can make powder, tinctures, decoctions and syrups, which are either compiled independently or purchased in ready-made collections. All these drugs have a softening, expectorant and antipyretic effect and are used for respiratory diseases.
And in folk medicine, healers used means based on the maidenhair for problems of the genitourinary system, liver and spleen. In India, leaf plates were ground into a paste and applied to wounds, and the juice from the leaves, mixed with water, was used for gastritis and respiratory infections, and the broth tones up the body well.
During the Middle Ages, a decoction of leaf segments of the maidenhair was used by healers to get rid of jaundice, urolithiasis, persistent fever and sciatica. If there was a malignant ulcer on the skin, then healers in the Middle Ages used the juice of the plant, and if a rabid dog bite occurred, then it was used for detoxification. If an ointment was prepared from the leaves, then an eye disease or scrofula could be cured. But Chinese experts in medicine with a decoction based on maidenhair leaves cured people suffering from alcohol and tobacco addiction, since they contain a lot of iodine.
It is possible to prepare useful tonic and invigorating teas from leaf segments, the recipes of which have been known to the people for a long time.
The extract of maidenhair may facilitate the course of diseases caused by E. coli, candida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and staphylococcus, streptococcus and aspergillus of various types. The essential oil of the plant also works.
Among other things, active flavonoids, kaempferol sulfates, lipids and glucosides, even steroids and other substances that beneficially heal the entire human body have been identified in the fronds of this representative of the fern genus.
Most of the old recipes today are approved by mainstream medicine.
Types of maidenhair
- Adiantum capollus-veneris (Adiantum capollus-veneris). This variety is the most popular. It prefers to be located near water bodies, on mountainous areas, loves limestone peat soils, and grows in almost all zones of the northern and here and there in the southern hemispheres. Rhizome herbal plant. The leaves have double pinnate outlines, the segments are longitudinal-oval with a total length of 25–40 cm. The first-order leaf blades are arranged alternately, lobed, wedge-shaped at the base, and rounded at the apex. They are 2, 5–3 cm long and 1, 5–2 cm wide, pale herbaceous color. Sporangia are located in the upper part of leaf segments. The petiole measures 10-15 cm, shiny, thin black color. Since in winter almost all the leaves fall off, it is rarely grown in rooms. Dry air of apartments is especially unacceptable for him, therefore, frequent spraying will be required.
- Wedge-shaped maidenhair (Adiantum cuneatum). It is similar to the view of A. beautiful, it differs only in that its sori have horseshoe-shaped outlines, they are located along the edge of the segments in the recesses. The native habitat is Brazil. It settles in humid woodlands of the subtropics.
- Small pubescent maidenhair (Adiantum hispidulum). It is often called A. fine-haired. It settles high in the mountains, even found on the snow line in the mountains of Africa, Madagascar, India and the Australian continent, as well as the island lands of New Zealand. Perennial with a herbaceous form of growth, with a thin and creeping rhizome. The leaves have a dissection in the form of a palm, they reach 15-22 cm in length. Segments with a diamond-shaped shape, 1.5-2 cm in length and 0.5 cm in width, differ on both sides with bristly pubescence, along the edge there is a fine serration … Sporangia are very densely located. The petiole reaches 15–35 cm in length, is strong, colored brown, covered with small bristles. This species grows very well in rooms.
- Gentle maidenhair (Adiantum tererum). Most often, the variety can be found in the shady, humid places of the Antilles island lands (Large and Small) and in tropical America. A perennial plant with a herbal form of growth. Creeping rhizome of short length. The leaf blades are three times pinnate, grow up to 50–70 cm in length and 40–50 cm in width. The leaf segments are tender at their base in the form of a wedge, attached to the frond with petioles, the shape is deep and wide-lobed along the upper edge. The petiole itself is 30 cm long, black in color and a glossy, bare surface, since there is a dissection at the top of the petiole, because of this, the leaves often fall off. Grows well indoors.
- Beautiful maidenhair (Adiantum formosum). A common inhabitant of shady and humid Australian and New Zealand areas. Herbaceous perennial with creeping shortened thin rhizome. The leaf blades can be dissected into three or four segments, broadly oval in shape, reaching 45-60 cm in length and 30-45 cm in width. Leaves of the 1st order, growing from below, have triangular shapes, and their segments are rhomboid-lobed. The length of the sheet is measured in 2 cm at 0.8 cm in width. They are herbaceous, rich grassy color. Sporangia nestled comfortably in the upper part of the leaves, in the form of buds. The petiole reaches a length of 30-50 cm, rough to the touch. Can be grown in warm and shaded rooms.
- Transparent maidenhair (Adiantum diaphanum). It grows in southern China and on the island of Indochina, in New Zealand. Height can reach 30-40 cm. Herbal perennial. Leaf blades are pinnate or doubly pinnate at their base. First-order leaves can measure 20 cm in length and 3 cm in width. Segments are broadly oval, reaching 1.5 cm in length and 1 cm in width. Their color is dull greenish, the apex is rounded, and the lower part has a concavity. Sporangia take the form of kidneys, and are located on the upper edge. The length of the thin petiole is 15–20 cm. It is grown as a pot plant for cutting foliage.
- Adiantum raddianum. It settles like an epiphyte on tree trunks on the South American continent. Herbaceous plants with a long life path. Their appearance is dense, creeping. The leaves are triangular, triangular in shape. Measured in length 25–45 cm and width 15–25 cm. Segments are likely, their width is 0.6–1 cm. There is a wedge at the base, and the apex is rounded, outlines in the form of lobes, the surface is dense. The shape of the sporangia is semicircular; their arrangement is located in the depressions of the segments. The petiole is thin, reaching a length of 20–25 cm. Suitable for indoor cultivation. There are many varieties.
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