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We, as humans, do not really appreciate many of the things in our lives that we have been gifted and always take many things for granted. It is this attitude that sometimes ends up proving to be quite devastating to us. One of these things that we take for granted is our home, that is the Earth.
If only we just started treating the Earth as our homes, we would take so much care of it. If it happens, we would never see anyone complaining about how deforestation is destroying the planet or how the animals are slowly turning to the urban areas instead of being in the forests because they literally have no home.
In our greed for having more area so we could either farm or make homes for ourselves, we are destroying the forests and the wildlife. If we just took out some time out of our lives and truly tried to think about everything that we do to harm these forests and trees, we would know how cruel we have been.
Well, just planting more trees is not going to help anyone. It might help with climate change if we plant enough new trees but the forests would still be gone as a result of deforestation right? If there were no plants in our lives, first of all, there would not be any life.
Second, nobody would have anything to eat, anything to breathe. And the secondary flaws of this are that we wouldn’t have anything to provide us with wood so there would be no furniture, or fireplaces burning and we would not have any paper for anything at all. So it is necessary that we take care of our planet so that we have a home to live in.
Today we are going to talk about one of the plants out there. It is called the maidenhair fern. Well, it turns out that not many people are aware of this plant. So, I am here to share some information about it. Let’s first see why plants are necessary for survival and then move forward with the maidenhair fern.
Why Are Plants Necessary For Our Survival?
- One of the most important reasons that we should not cut down trees and whole forests is that it is because of them that we are alive. Just think about what you would eat if suddenly all the plants and trees vanished? You would not have any vegetarian food available and for the same reason, the animals would not have it either.
- So this would lead to everyone slowly dying. If you think you could just eat seafood in that case, well, where did you think the oxygen come from? If all the trees and plants vanished from the Earth, we would use up all the oxygen available to us within days and there would not be any oxygen for us to breathe.
- Plants and trees take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen, this is something that was taught to us at a very young age. So the plants literally provide us with the air that we breathe. And it is not just that, we rely on them for so many other things as well.
- So the next time you think about expanding your backyard because there is a forest there and you want to cut it down, please do not. Besides these things, many trees and plants have various uses in medicine or many such things. For example, the Maidenhair Fern is one such plant that has a lot of uses.
As mentioned earlier, in this article, we are going to be talking about the maidenhair fern plant and everything you can use the fern for and how you can go about growing the plant in your garden and all the ways you can take care of the same. So let us begin.
What Are Maidenhair Ferns?
Before we dive into things like how you should grow and take care of these plants, it is essential that you know what these plants are and what benefits they provide us.
Maidenhair fern is the common name for adiantum. It is a genus that contains around two hundred and fifty types of ferns. They are a part of the subfamily Vittarioideae which is in the family of Pteridaceae. Although, some scientists believe that it should be kept in its own family Adiantaceae.
[To get more information about the species of this family, visit Adiantum, Wikipedia]
The name of the genus was derived from the Greek language, in which it means something that cannot get wet. These ferns can be very easily distinguished. They look dark and many times, have black stipes and rachises on them. They can also be bright green and have leaf tissues that are cut delicately.
These plants have tiny fronds and they look like lace sometimes. These ferns are considered hardy ferns instead of tropical ferns. However, that does not in any way mean that you will find it very easy to take care of inside your homes. They have to be carefully grown as we will discuss later in this article.
The ferns are naturally found in some of the tropical parts of Southern America, although they can be seen growing on forest floors, between the cracks of rocks, on the edges of rivers and roads, on the banks of basalt ranges and even on cliffs near the coast. The ferns can be found in various parts of the world as well.
Now that we have discussed what maidenhair ferns actually are and where they grow, it is time to get to the topic of what all benefits these ferns possess.
Benefits Of A Maidenhair Fern Plant
There are a lot of medicinal benefits of a maidenhair fern plant. Although you should keep in mind that a maidenhair fern plant is very different from a maidenhair tree. However, it has not been proven how effective the use of this fern could be regarding all the health issues, it is nonetheless useful. Let us discuss all the benefits:
It Helps With Bronchitis
If you have bronchitis, then you would know how difficult it gets to breathe with the pain in the lungs. To get rid of the pain you might have to take a lot of medicines like ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. But after a while, you might find it difficult to keep consuming these medicines and it might get irritable.
Another thing that you have to do is drink lots of liquids and get plenty of rest. But more often than not, all these methods still do not work. What do you do in such cases? You can try consuming the maidenhair ferns in that case.
This fern is known to make the pain in the tubes that carry air to and from the lungs in your throat, lessen. It could be a great option for you if nothing else is working, so you should definitely try it. Make sure that you consume this fern in small amounts.
Helps To Ease Cough
Getting a viral or catching a cold leads to coughs almost every time. These issues could be minor and go away in a few days. But every day that they are present, it is very irritating.
You can try syrups and other medicines and it might still take you a few days before you get better. In such a case, if you have maidenhair fern growing at your home, you could just consume it and it will help you a great deal with the cough.
And not just a normal cough, as mentioned before, these ferns can heal bronchitis to some extent, so it can heal heavy coughing issues as well.
Menstrual Cramps
If you are a woman, you would know how bad it can get if you have menstrual cramps along with bleeding. As if just having blood oozing out of you for 1/4th of a month was not enough. The menstrual cramps can get very severe for some women.
If you are unlucky enough to have them, you must know how problematic taking medicines for it or getting into very uncomfortable positions to help ease the pain can be. It is not something that you would want to have all your life and that is the reason some women opt to get a hysterectomy after they have a child.
One of the solutions to menstrual cramps could be consuming the maidenhair ferns. They will help ease away the cramps and you will have a lot more room to rest in your day without having to constantly shift positions to find one that is not gut-wrenchingly painful.
Hair Related Problems
If you have hair loss issues or if your hair color is slowly turning pale, then you might have tried hundreds of methods to get it the way it used to be. Many things such as applying yoghurt to the hair or taking special oils or consuming a particular type of food rich with iron or protein, these things might work for you or they might not.
If they do not work for you then you can try the maidenhair fern as well. You can apply the maidenhair fern directly to the scalp to get the best results and your hair will start becoming stronger and look better. The fern helps you with discolouration as well.
To know more medicinal uses of a maidenhair fern, visit: Medicinal Properties Of Adiantum
Air Purifier And Other Benefits
The maidenhair fern has a lot of air-purifying properties. It helps eliminate pollution and purifies the air to make it better to breathe. If you live in a city that is full of pollution then this fern plant would be a great asset to have in your mini-garden.
The fern contains chemicals that help in healing wounds and getting rid of inflammation as well. There are literally so many reasons to have this fern. Maidenhair leaves can also help you with obesity, fungal infections, diabetes, etc. If you are going to grow any plant in your house, it should be a maidenhair fern.
Now that we know the various benefits of a maidenhair fern, it is time that we got to the topic of how you can go about growing the fern in your home.
Best Tips To Grow A Maidenhair Fern In Your Home
The maidenhair ferns are a beautiful plant and they look spectacular right from the time they start blooming till they are old. These ferns are considered to be a plant that grows very slowly. It normally takes up to three years for it the grow completely.
One of the most important thing that you should keep in your mind is that this fern requires a lot of moisture to grow. Attaining a lot of moisture would prove difficult to some people because they might not have open spaces under the sun in their homes.
But you should not worry about that, if you take proper care of the plant, then you will have a very healthy, fully-grown maidenhair fern in your home in just three years. So let us discuss all the things that you would need to give the fern for it to grow healthily.
The Right Amount Of Sunlight
What is one of the most important thing while growing a plant? Sunlight of course. Like we depend on plants for food, the plants depend on the sunlight to do photosynthesis and without any light, they would not be able to do that and will eventually wither.
A maidenhair fern does not need a lot of sunlight. As it grows on the forest floors, it receives very limited sunlight because of all the bigger trees shading it. So, that is the optimal condition for a maidenhair fern to grow.
If you are growing a maidenhair fern indoors, make sure that you keep it away from getting in direct contact with the sunlight because that can easily burn the leaves of the fern. Keep it in a place where it receives very limited light from the sun. Although make sure the amount of light it receives is enough, you should not keep it in a dark corner of the house.
Water And Soil
As mentioned earlier, a maidenhair fern needs a lot of moisture. But keep in mind that it needs to be in a place that drains easily. The water that you provide should be draining regularly and you should always keep it watered.
Besides, you should remember that the maidenhair fern does not take well to an immense amount of water either, it should be just perfect. You should never go more than one day without watering the plant. If you are planting the maidenhair fern in a pot, make sure you make holes at the bottom of the pot for the water to drain.
Environment And Surrounding
The plant needs very warm and humid air around it for it to grow best. If you want to achieve the optimum requirements of the plant, you should water the fern with warm water. If you keep the plant in a bathroom or in a greenhouse, then it will grow rapidly. In case you notice that the plant is drying, make sure to provide enough moisture to it.
Talking about the temperature, the temperature should never drop below 60 degrees F and ideally, it should have a temperature of around 70 degrees F. The fern does not necessarily need any fertilizers but if you still wish to provide it with them, then make sure it does not contain access nitrogen in it. These ferns grow weak if too much nitrogen is supplied to them.
Now that you know what are the best conditions for growing a maidenhair fern, let us move on to how best to take care of these plants.
Caring For Maidenhair Ferns
★ One of the most important things to keep in mind while tending to this fern is to make sure that you do not over-water or under-water it. It should be constantly watered and its pot should have a good draining.
★ If you think your plant is outgrowing its pot, use a spade or a knife to carefully take it out by its roots and then replant it. If it has a lot of sections, you can plant different sections in different pots as well.
★ If you keep all the above points in mind, then you will find it easy to grow this fern in your home.
Conclusion
Maidenhair ferns are a great plant for anyone to have at their homes. They not only make the air better to breathe, but they also have a lot of medicinal uses. If you are going to be getting plants for your home, this should definitely be one of them.
You will only need to take proper care of the plant and it will grow spectacularly and brighten up your home with how good it looks. Adding a beneficial plant to your collection is nothing but better. So, go ahead and get your fern as well.
If you feel like you have any questions or suggestions regarding this fern, do not hesitate to mention them in the comments section.
Till then, Keep growing plants!
