Asplenium scolopendrium

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Special Concern

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Aspleniaceae

Plants terrestrial , on rock, or rarely epiphytic. Stems erect or nearly erect, rarely long-creeping, scaly . Steles radially symmetric or dorsiventral (with structurally distinct abaxial and adaxial aspects ) dictyosteles. Leaves monomorphic , rarely almost dimorphic with fertile leaves taller and more erect than sterile ones. Petioles with 1 vascular bundle X-shaped in cross section or with 2 vascular bundles back to back and C-shaped. Blades extremely diverse , simple to 4-pinnate, commonly with tiny glandular hairs and a few linear scales , rarely with spreading hairs. Veins free to anastomosing. Sori borne on veins, ± lunate to linear . Indusia usually present, shape conforming to sorus and originating along 1 side of sorus. Sporangia with stalk of 1 row of cells , annulus vertical , interrupted by sporangial stalk. Spores monolete; perispore typically winged , spiny , reticulate , or perforate . Gametophytes surficial , green, cordate.

Genera 1, species ca. 700 (1 genus, 28 species, and 3 nothospecies in the flora ) : worldwide.

Members of this family can usually be identified by the combination of clathrate stem scales and indusiate linear sori. Supporting anatomic characteristics include the two vascular bundles in the petiole that unite distally in the petiole to form an X-shaped petiolar strand , and the single row of cells in the sporangial stalk. The scales consist of cells with dark, thick, radial walls and clear, thin, tangential walls, giving the scales a clathrate (latticelike) appearance reminiscent of lead moldings between plates of stained glass.

As construed here, Aspleniaceae comprise a single, huge, extremely diverse genus, Asplenium . A satisfactory taxonomic division into subgenera or satellite genera has not been possible because of the absence of any significant gaps . Various segregates have been proposed (e.g. , Camptosorus, Phyllitis, Ceterach, Pleurosorus ), but numerous "intergeneric" hybrids occur.

The members of Asplenium are popular with plant evolutionists, field naturalists, and fern gardeners, not only because of the interesting morphology of the plants but also because of their remarkable ability to form spectacular hybrids, often combining dramatically different leaf shapes. In North America, 23 diploid hybrids and allopolyploids have been recorded. At least two of these hybrid combinations occur as both sterile diploids and their fertile allotetraploid derivatives. Only those hybrids that are reproductively competent (through vigorous clone-forming by root proliferations or apogamy, or rarely through sexual reproduction) are treated in the key and fully described below.

Only about two-fifths of the reproductively competent species are believed to be cladistically divergent species; the other three-fifths are of hybrid origin (allopolyploids) . For two of the allotetraploids, sterile diploids of the same parentage are also known. The most unusual allopolyploid phytogeographically is Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, the parents of which are known only in the Old World. These reticulate relationships are summarized in the reticulogram.

Polyploidy is widespread in Asplenium, and the chromosome numbers vary from 2 x to 6 x . Two species, Asplenium trichomanes and A . heterochroum, occur in different levels of polyploidy---2 x and 4 x, and 4 x and 6 x, respectively. The highest chromosome number known for Asplenium in North America is 2 n = 216 (in A . trichomanes-dentatum and the hexaploid form of A . heterochroum ) . The only three apogamous taxa are A . monanthes (3 x ), A . resiliens (3 x ), and A . × heteroresiliens (5 x ) .[1]

Genus Asplenium

Roots fibrous , not proliferous or proliferous and producing tiny plantlets . Stems erect , rarely long-creeping; scales basally attached, clathrate. Petioles not articulate . Blades 1--4-pinnate, of diverse size and shape . Indusia present. x = 36.

Species ca. 700 (28 species, 3 nothosp: worldwide.[2]

Physical Description

Landscaping

Care: Easy care.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,500 meters (0 to 8,202 feet).[3]

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 24-36" apart.

Soil: Prefers moist, good soil. • Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 8.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Partial to Full Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Asplenium altajense (Komarov) Grubov • Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newman • Phyllitis scolopendrium (Linnaeus) Newman

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 12-Mar-2003

Similar Species

Members of the genus Asplenium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 165 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. abscissum (Abscised Spleenwort) · A. acuminatum (Taper-Tip Spleenwort) · A. adiantum-nigrum (Black Spleenwort) · A. adiantum-nigrum woronowii (Black Spleenwort) · A. adulterinum (Ladder Spleenwort) · A. aethiopicum (Egyptian Spleenwort) · A. alternifolium (Alternateleaf Spleenwort) · A. auriculatum (Tree-Trunk Spleenwort) · A. auritum (Auricled Spleenwort) · A. auritum Sw. var. auritum Sw. (Eared Spleenwort) · A. auritum Sw. var. bipinnatifidum Kunze (Eared Spleenwort) · A. auritum var. auritum (Eared Spleenwort) · A. auritum var. bipinnatifidum (Eared Spleenwort) · A. australasicum (Birds Nest Fern) · A. australasicum forma australasicum (Bird´s-Nest Fern) · A. australasicum f. robinsonii (Bird´s-Nest Fern) · A. biscaynianum (Biscayne Spleenwort) · A. boydstoniae (Boydston's Spleenwort) · A. bradleyi (Bradley's Spleenwort) · A. bulbiferum (Hen and Chickens Fern) · A. caudatum (Speenwort) · A. ceterach (Rusty-Back Fern) · A. cirrhatum (Chestnut Scale Spleenwort) · A. clermontiae (Clermont's Spleenwort) · A. contiguum (Forest Spleenwort) · A. contiguum Kaulf. var. contiguum Kaulf. (Forest Spleenwort) · A. contiguum Kaulf. var. hirtulum C.Chr. (Forest Spleenwort) · A. contiguum var. contiguum (Forest Spleenwort) · A. contiguum var. hirtulum (Forest Spleenwort) · A. corderoanum (Rio Abajo Spleenwort) · A. cristatum (Parsley Spleenwort) · A. cuneatum (Wedge-Leaf Spleenwort) · A. curtissii (Curtiss' Spleenwort) · A. dalhousiae (Countess Dalhousie's Spleenwort) · A. densum (Dense Spleenwort) · A. ebenoides (Dragon Tails Fern) · A. enatum (Queen Spleenwort) · A. esculentum (Vegetable Fern) · A. exiguum (Little Spleenwort) · A. feei (Fee's Spleenwort) · A. flabellifolium (Necklace Fern) · A. flabellulatum (Latin American Spleenwort) · A. flaccidum (Weeping Spleenwort) · A. flaccidum flaccidum (Weeping Spleenwort) · A. formosum (Showy Spleenwort) · A. goudeyi (Birds Nest Fern) · A. gravesii (Graves' Spleenwort) · A. haleakalense (Haleakala Spleenwort) · A. herb-wagneri (Herb's Spleenwort) · A. heterochroum (Bicolored Spleenwort) · A. heteroresiliens (Resilient Spleenwort) · A. hobdyi (Hobdy's Spleenwort) · A. horridum (Lacy Spleenwort) · A. inexpectatum (Spleenwort) · A. insiticium (Royal Spleenwort) · A. juglandifolium (Walnut Spleenwort) · A. kaulfussii (Kaulfuss Spleenwort) · A. kentuckiense (Kentucky Spleenwort) · A. laetum (Brownstem Spleenwort) · A. lobulatum (Piipiilau Manamana) · A. macraei (Macrae's Spleenwort) · A. monanthes (Single-Sorus Spleenwort) · A. montanum (Mountain Spleenwort) · A. morganii (Morgan's Spleenwort) · A. myriophyllum (Limestone Spleenwort) · A. neobrackenridgei (Neobrackenridge's Spleenwort) · A. nidus (Bird's Nest Fern) · A. nidus var. plicatum (Bird's Nest Fern) · A. nidus 'Antiquum' (Japanese Birds Nest) · A. nidus 'Osaka' (Osaka Bird's Nest Fern) · A. nidus 'Ruffled' (Ruffled Birds Nest Fern) · A. nodosum (Nodeless Danafern) · A. normale (Rainforest Spleenwort) · A. oblongifolium (Shining Spleenwort) · A. obtusatum (Shore Spleenwort) · A. obtusifolium (Bluntleaf Spleenwort) · A. ocoense (Rockledge Spleenwort) · A. palmeri (Palmer Spleenwort) · A. patens (Spreading Spleenwort) · A. pinnatifidum (Lobed Spleenwort) · A. platyneuron (Ebony Spleenwort) · A. platyneuron var. bacculum-rubrum (Ebony Spleenwort) · A. platyneuron var. platyneuron (Ebony Spleenwort) · A. platyneuron var. proliferum (Ebony Spleenwort) · A. plenum (Ruffled Spleenwort) · A. polyodon (Petako) · A. polyodon G.Forst. var. knudsenii (Hbd.) Morton (Knudsen's Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon G.Forst. var. nitidulum (Skottsb.) Morton (Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon G.Forst. var. sectum (Hbd.) Morton (Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon G.Forst. var. subcaudatum (Skottsb.) Morton (Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon var. knudsenii (Knudsen's Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon var. nitidulum (Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon var. sectum (Birdnest Fern) · A. polyodon var. subcaudatum (Birdnest Fern) · A. pseudoerectum (Antilles Spleenwort) · A. pteropus (West Indian Spleenwort) · A. pumilum (Dwarf Spleenwort) · A. radicans (Dullgreen Spleenwort) · A. resiliens (Black-Stem Spleenwort) · A. rhizophyllum (Walking Fern)

More Info

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Further Reading

• 1997 IUCN red list of threatened plants Cambridge: IUCN, World Conservation Union, 1998 url p. 4.
• A plain and easy account of the British ferns: together with their classification, arrangement of genera, structure, and functions; and a glosssary of technical and other terms. / Edited by Phebe Lankester. London: Hardwicke, 1860? url p. 78.
• A supplement to the Pharmacopia, and treatise on pharmacology in general: including not only the drugs and preparations used by practitioners of medicine, but also most of those employed in the chemical arts: together with a collection of the most useful medical formulæ. . by Samuel Frederic Gray. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1836. url p. 12.
• American plants. .. [Descriptions, bibliographical notes, synonymy, and other information, comp. from many sources] Charles Russell Orcutt, editor. San Diego, Calif., [1907]-1910. url p. 1030.
• C. E. Hobbs Botanical hand-book of common local, English, botanical and pharmacopial names arranged in alphabetical order, of most of the crude vegetable drugs, etc., in common use. Especially designed as a reference book for druggists and apothecaries. Comp. and pub. by Charles E. Hobbs. Boston, Printed by C.C. Roberts, 1876. url p. 110.
• C.E. Hobbs' Botanical hand-book: of common local, English, botanical and pharmacopœial names arranged in alphabetical order, of most of the crude vegetable drugs, etc., in common use: their properties, productions and uses in an abb Boston: Printed by C.C. Roberts, 1876. url .
• Canadian filicineae / Macoun & Burgess. [Ottawa: s. n.]1884. url p. 195.
• Ferns: British and exotic... London, Groombridge and Sons, 1856-60. url .
• Flora of Derbyshire: flowering plants, higher cryptogams, mosses and hepatics, Characeae. London, Bemrose & Sons Ltd., 1903. url .
• Flora of Japan: in English: combined, much revised and extended translation / by the author of his Flora of Japan (1953) and Flora of Japan, Pteridophyta (1957); edited by Frederick G. Meyer and Egbert H. Walker. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1965. url p. 92, p. 96.
• Flora of the U.S.S.R. [Springfield, Va.: Israel Program for Scientific Translations; 1968- url p. 47.
• How ferns grow, by Margaret Slosson; with forty-six plates by the author. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1906. url p. 44.
• How ferns grow. New York, Holt, 1906. url p. 44.
• North American botany; comprising the native and common cultivated plants, north of Mexico. Genera arranged according to the artificial and natural methods. By Amos Eaton. In the present edition the author is associated with John Wright. Troy, N. Y., E. Gates, 1840. url p. 419.
• Our native ferns and their allies: with synoptical descriptions of the American Pteridophyta north of Mexico / by Lucien Marcus Underwood. New York: H. Holt, 1896, c1888. url p. 108.
• Our native ferns and their allies; with synoptical descriptions of the American "Pteridophyta" north of Mexico. New York, Holt, 1888. url p. 108.
• Our native ferns, or, A history of the British species and their varieties / by E.J. Lowe. London: Groombridge, 1865-1867. url p. 75.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 194, p. 196.
• The Catholic yearbook: comprehending, the circle of the seasons and key to the calendar and almanac, or the natural history, religious festivals and miscellaneous customs of the whole year adapted for all succeeding years; [by Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster] London: Keating and Brown, 1833. url p. 31.
• The Horticulturist and journal of rural art and rural taste. Albany, N.Y.: Luthur Tucker, 1846/1847-1875 url p. 77.
• The gardener's magazine and register of rural & domestic improvement. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, 1826-1844. url p. 162.
• The natural history of Pliny. London, H. G. Bohn, 1855-57. url p. 228.
• The natural history of Pliny. Tr., with copious notes and illustrations, by the late John Bostock and H. T. Riley. London, H. G. Bohn, 1855-57. url p. 228.
• Gastony, G. J. 1986. Electrophoretic evidence for the origin of a fern species by unreduced spores. Amer. J. Bot. 73: 1563--1569.
• Kramer, K. U. and R. Viane. 1990. Aspleniaceae. In: K. Kubitzki et al., eds. 1990+. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. 1+ vol. Berlin etc. Vol. 1, pp. 52--56.
• Reichstein, T. 1981. Hybrids in European Aspleniaceae (Pteridophyta). Bot. Helv. 91: 89--139.

Notes

Contributors

• American Plant Food Company, 7405 River Road, Bethesda MD.
• "Asplenium scolopendrium". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Published by Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 16, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 31 providers.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (May 04, 2008)

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 14, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Bundesamt für Naturschutz / Zentralstelle für Phytodiversität Deutschland, Bundesamt fuer Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fuer Phytodiversitaet Deutschland
• European Environment Agency, EUNIS
• GBIF-Spain, Aranzadi Zientzi Elkartea
• GBIF-Spain, CIBIO, Alicante:ABH-GBIF
• GBIF-Spain, Herbario Universidad de Málaga: MGC-Cormófitos
• GBIF-Spain, Jardi Botanic de Valencia: VAL
• GBIF-Spain, Real Jardin Botanico
• , Vascular Plant Herbarium
• GBIF-Spain, Universidad de Oviedo. Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas: FCO
• GBIF-Spain, Universidad del País Vasco/EHU, Bilbao: Herbario BIO
• Herbario SANT, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, SANT herbarium vascular plant collection
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• NLBIF, Limnodata
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plant Herbarium, Oslo
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plants, Field notes, Oslo
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Herbarium of Oskarshamn
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Lund Botanical Museum
• US National Plant Germplasm System, United States National Plant Germplasm System Collection
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn, inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3875634
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-192155
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14101480
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:17051180-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 5592
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 17051180
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PPASP021E0
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: PHSCA
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 167618

Footnotes

1. Wagner, Warren H. Jr., Robbin C. Moran, and Charles R. Werth "Aspleniaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Warren H. Wagner Jr., Robbin C. Moran, Charles R. Werth "Asplenium". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mean = 210.970 meters (692.159 feet), Standard Deviation = 252.620 based on 2,814 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

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