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maidenhair spleenwort

Scientific Name: Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes

Family: Aspleniaceae

Category: Fern

Growth: Forb/herb

Duration: Perennial

Other Names:

       

Maidenhair Spleenwort: A Delicate Fern for Your Garden

The Maidenhair Spleenwort, scientifically known as Asplenium trichomanes, is a charming small fern that adds a touch of elegance to gardens, especially rock gardens and stone troughs.

Considerations for Pets

  • This plant is often found growing on rocks and walls.
  • It produces spores, which may be of interest to curious animals.

Considerations for Children

  • This plant is often found growing on rocks and walls.
  • It produces spores, which may be of interest to curious children.

Nomenclature and Taxonomy

  • Scientific Name: Asplenium trichomanes L.
  • Common Names: Maidenhair Spleenwort, Dense Spleenwort, Toothed Spleenwort, Brightgreen Spleenwort
  • Family: Aspleniaceae (Spleenwort family), also sometimes listed as Polypodiaceae.
  • Genus: Asplenium
  • Subspecies: The Maidenhair Spleenwort is divided into two subspecies: Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes (grows in crevices of acidic rocks) and another, unnamed in the text.
  • Synonyms: None explicitly mentioned, but note the alternative family name.
  • Etymology: The name Trichomanes comes from ancient Greek, meaning "hair of the head" (tricho, hairy + manes, flowing).

Distribution and Habitat

  • Widespread and common.
  • Found growing in tufts on rocks, old walls, mossy branches, cliffs, and scree.
  • Prefers shaded limestone.
  • Can be found in the north temperate zone, Hawaii, Britain, Northern Ireland, Japan (along with Asplenium incisum), Tasmania, and Turkey.
  • Specifically mentioned locations: Smardale disused Rly, Cumbria (Westmorland), West Scotland (Main Argyll).

Morphological Characteristics

  • Small fern, forming dense tufts.
  • Evergreen.
  • Fronds are usually up to 20cm long, with narrow, long shapes that gradually taper towards the tip.
  • Leaflets are slightly roundly toothed and opposite each other in pairs.
  • Short rhizomes.
  • Glabrous (smooth) fronds clustered from the base of the plant.
  • Each frond is 7-35 cm long.
  • Blackish glossy frond stalk and midrib.
  • Dark green fronds.
  • Narrow lance shaped, pinnate dark green fronds on black or dark brown stalks reaching 15cm.

Quirky Facts

  • The Maidenhair Spleenwort occurs right around the world, from Tasmania to Turkey!
  • One subspecies prefers to grow in crevices of acidic rocks.
  • It has been found growing within thirty yards of heavy transcontinental traffic, yet so well concealed that scarcely anyone notices it.

Further Information

  • RHS (Royal Horticultural Society)
  • Ontario Ferns
  • Endangered Resces Program
  • Dave's Garden
  • Wisconsin State Herbarium
  • Wikimedia Commons