Adiantum venustum

Adiantum venustum, the evergreen maidenhair or Himalayan maidenhair, is a species of fern in the genus Adiantum of the family Pteridaceae, native to China and the Himalayas. It is a slow to establish plant that usually grows on moist rocks and soil with a good amount of humus and dead leaves. It is very hardy, largely evergreen to -10 °C, when it becomes deciduous. It is also known as black Hansraj in India for its black stalks at the fronds. The soft green fronds are triangular, with numerous fan-shaped segments on each frond, with black stems. The roots are rhizomatous. The whole plant forms a slowly spreading mat. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The fern is used for the treatment in cold, headache, hydrophobia, inflammatory of the chest. It is also use as an antiviral or antibacterial drug. The extract from the rhizome can be used to treat diabetes, liver problems and diuretic. It is also suggested that researchers had found ethanolic extract of the leaves and stems of the plant, which is composed of terpenoid, phytosterols, flavonoid, and saponin, are things that control cancer activities. The extract was injected into mice. However, the fern's extract can cause sedation, muscle relaxation and hypnosis in mice.