Venus hair fern deposit

Overview

Venus hair fern deposit is a protected area in Bulgaria. It is located in the lands of Kardzhali and the village of Rezbartsi, Kardzhali region.

The protected area is 1.5 ha. It was declared on December 3, 1981 in order to preserve the natural habitat of Venus hair (Adiantum capilus veneris).

Venus hair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Adiant family. The species is critically endangered in Bulgaria. It is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria and the Biodiversity Act.

The plant has a fragile and short-creeping rhizome. Its leaves are delicate, up to 30 cm long, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, double- or trifoliate. The leaf segments are fan-shaped or wedge-shaped, without a clearly visible midrib. The outer edge of the sterile segments is serrated, that of the fertile is membranous and folded down, forming a pseudo-Hindu covering the sori. Propagated by spores ripening in June-August.

Venus hair fern is widespread in warm temperate and tropical areas, almost cosmopolitan. In Bulgaria it is found in the Osogovo-Belasitsa mountain range, the valley of Struma, Slavyanka, the Rhodopes, at about 1000 m above sea level.