Common Maidenhair

Adiantum capillus-veneris

native · Hill Country

Common Maidenhair is a wildflower native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 0.5–2 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and medium water, and handles caliche soil. Blooms white in summer. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds and small mammals.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources

Type: Wildflower
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water: Medium
Height: 0.5–2 ft
Spread: 1.5 ft
Bloom: Summer · white
Foliage: Evergreen
Soil: Takes caliche · recorded on limestone, loam, moist, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it
Wildlife: Supports birds and small mammals

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieFloodplains and Low Terraces

1 occurrence record in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.