Adiantum raddianum C.Presl, Pteridaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Adiantum cuneatum Langsd. & Fischer

Common name(s): [more details]

English: delta maidenhair fern

Habit:  fern

Description:  "Rhizome short-creeping, branched, clothed with dark brown, lance-attenuate, entire scales to 0.8 mm long. Fronds close, erect-arching, glabrous, mostly 15-45 cm long, stipes dark reddish-brown to blackish, naked, equalling or exceeding the blades. Blades deltate or lance-ovate to broadly ovate, to 30 cm broad (usually less), 3- to 4-pinnate; pinnae and pinnules stalked; ultimate divisions cuneate-flabellate, symmetrical or not, not articulate, the sterile margins with each vein ending in a small notch or sinus. Sori solitary or few on each ultimate pinnule; indusoid flap pale or whitish, more or less orbicular-reniform." (Howard, 1977; pp. 189-190).

Habitat/ecology:  In the Lesser Antilles, "roadside banks and paths at middle elevations, naturalized" (Howard, 1977; pp. 189-190). In Hawai‘i, "it grows on moist and shaded rocks, slopes, and river and roadside banks" (Wilson, 1996).

Propagation:  Spores

Native range:  South America. "This species has escaped from cultivation at many localities in the American tropics, so that its true natural range is difficult to ascertain" (Howard, 1977; pp. 189-190).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. (2005)
Kiribati Kiribati	Kiribati (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R. (1987) (p. 40)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 2)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mascarene Islands Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues)	Mascarene Islands	introduced	Lorence, David (year unknown)

Comments:  Reported to be invasive in the Mascarene Islands (David Lorence, pers. com.) and in Africa (Rejmánek, 1996).

Additional information:
Additional online information about Adiantum raddianum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Adiantum raddianum as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Adiantum raddianum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Adiantum cuneatum Langsd. & Fischer

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1987. Flora of the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, checklist. Atoll Res. Bull. 295:1-33.

Howard, Richard A. 1977. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 2, Pteridophyta. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 414 pp.

Lorence, David. 0. David Lorence, pers. com.

Rejmánek, M. 1996. Species richness and resistance to invasions. In: Orians, G., R. Dirzo and J. H. Cushman (eds.). Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in tropical forests. Springer-Verlag. pp. 153-172.

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, W. L./Herbst, D. R./Lorence, D. H. 2005. Flora of the Hawaiian Islands website (online resource).

Wilson, K. A. 1996. Alien ferns in Hawai‘i. Pacific Science. 50(2):127-141.