Maidenhair fern has a creeping rhizome up to 4mm in diamaeter and covered with dark-coloured scales. Bright green leaves. It grows in sheltered crevices among rocks.

This fern is rare and has only been recorded on West Falkland, Saunders Island. It is native to the Falkland Islands but also is on neighbouring South America, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Venezuela.

Maidenhair fern is on the Falkland Islands Red List. This plant is legally protected. It is an offence to deliberately pick, collect, cut, uproot or destroy a protected wild plant.

Sources include: The Vascular Flora of the Falkland Islands- D. M. Moore, B.Sc., Ph.D, 1968, Field Guide to the Plants of the Falkland Islands- Thomas Heller, Rebecca Upston, Richard Lewis, edited by Colin Clubbe

Photographic credits: Ali Marsh

Photographs and Images Copyright: The images on this site have been bought under licence or have been used with the permission of their owners. They may not be copied or downloaded in any form without their owner's consent.