ADIANTUM. Maidenhair fern. A large group of ferns, mostly of the tropics but with a few species found as far north as Alaska. Most have wiry, darkly colored stalks and fronds intricately divided into thin-textured, oval to wedge-shaped pinnules, or leaflets. They are well adapted to container culture and to moist, well drained, shady nooks of the garden. Unlike many ferns, the following selections do not need acid soil, though they seem to tolerate it. Hardiness varies with their origin.
capillus-veneris. Southern maidenhair. This might as well be dubbed the travelling fern, for it is found throughout the milder portions of the U.S., including southern California, and much of the warm-temperate world. It is extremely variable but generally under 2' tall, with wiry blackish stalks and 2- or 3-times-divided fronds. Hardy to 20oF or less.
pedatum. Five-finger fern. Though it has all the airy grace one associates with the ferns, this Pacific Coast native is most unusual in form. Nearly black, wiry, arching stalks rise to 2½' from a compact base. At the ends of these stalks the fronds are divided handlike into several flat, tapered segments, each of these divided again. Hardy to below 0o, though the fronds are cold-scorched at around 20oF.