Adiantum diaphanumBlume

WFO wfo-0001116575 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Samuel Frankel
fig. a Samuel Frankel, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-02-20 / obs. 180229095
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. b Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 179232272
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. c Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 161458458
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. d Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153876609
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by gnapp
fig. e gnapp, CC0 1.0 / obs. 139696942
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Leon Perrie
fig. f Leon Perrie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 133944042
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. g Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125874870
Adiantum diaphanum, photographed by naturewatchwidow
fig. h naturewatchwidow, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 92555614

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 29 botanical countries

Regions where Adiantum diaphanum is native: China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Kazan-retto, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Borneo, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Vietnam, Chatham Is., Kermadec Is., New South Wales, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norfolk Is., Queensland, Victoria, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu China SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanBorneoLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalukuNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.SulawesiVietnamNew South WalesNew Zealand NorthNew Zealand SouthQueenslandVictoriaFijiNew Caledonia Nansei-shotoChatham Is.Kermadec Is.Norfolk Is.SamoaTongaVanuatu
Native distribution of Adiantum diaphanum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Borneo BOR ASIA-TROPICAL
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Maluku MOL
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sulawesi SUL
Vietnam VIE
Chatham Is. CTM AUSTRALASIA
Kermadec Is. KER
New South Wales NSW
New Zealand North NZN
New Zealand South NZS
Norfolk Is. NFK
Queensland QLD
Victoria VIC
China Southeast CHS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Kazan-retto KZN
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Taiwan TAI
Fiji FIJ PACIFIC
New Caledonia NWC
Samoa SAM
Tonga TON
Vanuatu VAN

Not drawn on the map: Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 12 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Adiantum affine Hook.
  • Adiantum diaphanum var. affine (Willd.) Alderw.
  • Adiantum diaphanum var. polymorphum (Colenso) Cheeseman
  • Adiantum erectum Kunze
  • Adiantum filicaule Kunze
  • Adiantum heteromorphum Col.
  • Adiantum hispidulum var. fitzalanii F.M.Bailey
  • Adiantum muelleri F.Muell.
  • Adiantum polymorphum Colenso
  • Adiantum setulosum J.Sm.
  • Adiantum tenue var. commutatum Domin
  • Adiantum tuberosum Colenso

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.