''Adiantum philippense'', also known as walking maidenhair fern, or black maidenhair, is a species of maidenhair fern (''

Adiantum ''Adiantum'' (), 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, though some researchers place it ...

'') that is widely distributed through the southern hemisphere, notably Asia, Africa, and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Taxonomy

The species was named by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753. It was lectotypified by R.E.G. Pichi-Sermolli in 1957 based on an illustration by

James Petiver James Petiver () was a London apothecary, a fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his specimen collections in which he traded and study of botany and entomology. He corresponded with ...

. The identifiability of this illustration was disputed, leading some authorities to deprecate ''A. philippense'' as a ''nomen dubium'' and use the next available name for the taxon, ''Adiantum lunulatum'' Burm.f.. Burman conferred this specific epithet based on its half-moon shaped

pinnae Pinna may refer to: Biology * Pinna (anatomy), or auricle, the outer part of the ear * ''Pinna'' (bivalve), a genus of molluscs * Pinna (botany), a primary segment of a compound leaf People Surname * Christophe Pinna (born 1968), French marti ...

. However, Christopher Fraser-Jenkins located the original material and drawing of the lectotype sent to Petiver by

Georg Joseph Kamel Georg Joseph Kamel (; ; ; ; 12 April 1661 – 2 May 1706) was a Jesuit missionary, pharmacist and naturalist known for producing the first comprehensive accounts of Philippine flora and fauna and for introducing Philippine nature to the European l ...

in the Sloane Herbarium, making clear the application of the name ''A. philippense''.

Description

''Adiantum philippense'' grows in a creeping or semi-erect position. Its

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s are arched and tufted. The fern is notably overall very glabrous and smooth. It grows on streambanks, often on

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Distribution

''Adiantum philippense'' can be found across south-east Asia. It inhabits tropical areas in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Gallery

File: Maidenhair 556688555.jpeg, ''Adiantum philippense'' in Bangladesh File: Maidenhair 9998556999.jpeg, Maidenhair on shaded rocky bricks in Bangladesh File:The ferns of southern India. Being descriptions and plates of the ferns of the Madras presidency (page 126 crop).jpg,

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10905215 philippense Flora of tropical Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus