Adiantum pedatum (Northern maidenhair fern)

Northern maidenhair’s delicate, 8-30 in. fronds, with dark, shiny stems, spread their pinnae horizontally in a nearly perfect circle. This graceful, fan-like pattern is unique among native ferns. The fronds arise from a creeping rootstock in clusters. Burgundy red fiddleheads appear in early spring. The roots are wiry and black, colonizing in favorable sites.

This fern is quite easy to grow if it is provided with the right conditions. Western plants are sometimes treated as a separate variety or subspecies, A. pedatum var. or ssp. aleuticum, but eastern and western plants look very much alike.