Fall Ferns 2026

Northern Maidenhair

Probably the prettiest fern in our area is the Northern Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum). They start out in the Spring as pink wormy looking fiddleheads but develop into beautiful delicate and distinctive blades arranged in a circular pattern with thin black shiny stalks. As Fall starts the pinnae or leaflets develop some purple color and eventually turn a deep brown. Despite their delicate appearance, these fronds are tough and can often be found standing or lying intact on the ground, unless blanketed with snow. They make nice additions to dry arrangements in the winter.

According to various fern books, the scientific name comes from the Greek "a"-without and "dianem"-to wet. since the pinnae shed water. See for yourself after a rain! The name pedatum comes from the Latin for feet, supposedly referring to the branching of the blade (Chadde 2023). Fertile and sterile blades look the same, but the fertile pinnules have the sori or fruit dots at the margins on the back of the wavy side, covered by the rolled margin of the pinnule or leaflet, similar to Bracken.

I plan to showcase some more Fall ferns before they fade. In the meantime, you can go out and see them for yourselves! There is always something beautiful to see outdoors, especially this time of year. We are considering adding another Fern Walk soon. It will be posted on the calendar. Probably for a shorter time and focused on a few species that are nice in the Fall.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Sun, Sep 27, 2026
Updated: Tue, Oct 6, 2026