Adiantum viridimontanum, commonly known as Green Mountain maidenhair fern, is a rare fern found only in outcrops of serpentine rock in New England and Canada. It is named after the site of its discovery in the Green Mountains in Vermont; it has since been located in Quebec and in one site on serpentine in coastal Maine. Until 1991, it was grouped with the western maidenhair fern A. aleuticum, which itself was classified as a variety of the northern maidenhair fern A. pedatum. It was then established that A. viridimontanum was a hybrid species and that the other two ferns were distinct species, although it is difficult to distinguish between the three species in the field. Due to the limited distribution of A. viridimontanum and its similarity to other species, little is known of its ecology. It thrives on sunny, disturbed areas where ultramafic rock is covered with thin soil, such as road cuts, talus slopes, and asbestos mines. Individual plants seem long-lived, and new individuals only infrequently reach maturity. It is one of four species endemic to serpentine in eastern North America and is considered globally threatened due to its habitat restrictions.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiantum_viridimontanum

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1703:

The Great Storm of 1703, one of the severest storms to strike southern Great Britain, destroyed the first Eddystone Lighthouse in Plymouth, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddystone_Lighthouse

1815:

As specified by the Congress of Vienna, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland was signed for the newly recreated Polish state that was under Russian control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland

1940:

The Iron Guard killed over 60 political detainees at a penitentiary near Bucharest and followed up with several high-profile assassinations, including that of former Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Iorga (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Iorga

1978:

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been in conflict with Turkey over the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Workers%27_Party

2005:

French oral and maxillofacial surgeon Bernard Devauchelle performed the world's first partial face transplant on a living human, replacing Isabelle Dinoire's face, which had been mutilated by her dog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ace: (UK, slang) Excellent. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ace

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion.   --Bruce Lee https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee