Adiantum philippenseL.

WFO wfo-0001110777 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Adiantum philippense, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. a Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-10 / obs. 197013813
Adiantum philippense, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. b Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 169346709
Adiantum philippense, photographed by Sabarni Sarker
fig. c Sabarni Sarker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 163600277
Adiantum philippense, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. d Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 165788030
Adiantum philippense, photographed by 葉子
fig. e 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 140551856
Adiantum philippense, photographed by Beah Vega
fig. f Beah Vega, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 134250503
Adiantum philippense, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. g Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 104590901
Adiantum philippense, photographed by 國立臺灣博物館
fig. h 國立臺灣博物館, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 78724341

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 67 botanical countries

Regions where Adiantum philippense is native: Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Oman, Taiwan, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Caroline Is., Fiji, Marianas, Samoa, Vanuatu AngolaBeninBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadDR CongoEthiopiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanOmanTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaFiji Cape VerdeComorosMauritiusAndaman Is.Caroline Is.MarianasSamoaVanuatu
Native distribution of Adiantum philippense, 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
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Fiji FIJ
Marianas MRN
Samoa SAM
Vanuatu VAN
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

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.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,024 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 8.3 °C 14.3 °C 23.9 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 26.0 °C 29.8 °C 36.5 °C
Annual rainfall 1,174 mm 2,568 mm 4,050 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 4 mm 85 mm 256 mm

It is barely found anywhere that freezes. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,024 research-grade observations of Adiantum philippense that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 19 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 arcuatum (Poir.) Sw.
  • Adiantum lunatum Cav.
  • Adiantum lunulatum Burm.f.
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. dolabriforme F.M.Bailey
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. fissum Christ
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. limbatum Christ
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. lobatum C.Chr.
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. pteropus (R.Br.) Bonap.
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. subjunonicum Christ
  • Adiantum lunulatum var. tremulum Baker
  • Adiantum philippense var. dolabriforme (F.M.Bailey) D.A.Sm.
  • Adiantum philippense var. lobatum C.Chr.
  • Aspidium arcuatum (Poir.) Desv.
  • Cyclosorus arcuatus (Poir.) Alston
  • Cyclosorus arcuatus (Poir.) Alston
  • Nephrodium arcuatum (Poir.) Desv.
  • Polypodium arcuatum Poir.
  • Pteris lunulata (Burm.f.) Retz.
  • Thelypteris arcuata (Poir.) C.F.Reed

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.