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Asplenium

 
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Asplenium
 
 
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Asplenium is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 700 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of fern
Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta....
s, often treated as the only genus in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Aspleniaceae
Aspleniaceae

The Aspleniaceae is a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales or in some classifications as the only family in the order Aspleniales....
, though other authors consider e.g. Hymenasplenium separate. A few species are occasionally placed in the separate genera Camptosorus, Ceterach and Phyllitis, but these species can form hybrids with other Asplenium species and because of this are usually included in a more broadly defined Asplenium.






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Asplenium is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 700 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of fern
Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta....
s, often treated as the only genus in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Aspleniaceae
Aspleniaceae

The Aspleniaceae is a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales or in some classifications as the only family in the order Aspleniales....
, though other authors consider e.g. Hymenasplenium separate. A few species are occasionally placed in the separate genera Camptosorus, Ceterach and Phyllitis, but these species can form hybrids with other Asplenium species and because of this are usually included in a more broadly defined Asplenium. Some classifications elevate the Aspleniaceae to an order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
 Aspleniales.

It has been found that in some species, the chloroplast
Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryote organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve Thermodynamic free energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis....
 genome has evolve
Evolve

Evolve may refer to:*Evolve, as in Evolution.*Evolve on The History Channel*Evolve Festival, an annual music and cultural festival held in Nova Scotia, Canada....
d in complex and highly unusual ways. This makes standard cladistic analyses unsuited to resolve the phylogeny of that particular group of ferns, and even very sophisticated computational phylogenetics
Computational phylogenetics

Computational phylogenetics is the application of computational algorithms, methods and programs to Phylogenetics analyses. The goal is to assemble a phylogenetic tree representing a hypothesis about the evolutionary ancestry of a set of genes, species, or other taxa....
 methods yield little information. In addition to hybridization running rampant in parts of this genus, there are also some species like the Mother Spleenwort (A. bulbiferum) or A. viviparum which mainly reproduce asexually
Asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. Only one parent is involved in asexual reproduction....
, essentially cloning
Cloning

Cloning in biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce Asexual Reproduction....
 themselves over and over again. While most are diploid or tetraploid, some species (e.g. A. shuttleworthianum) are octoploid.

The most common vernacular name is spleenworts, applied to the more "typical" species. A. nidus
Asplenium nidus

Asplenium nidus is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, northern Queensland in Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and eastern Africa....
 and several similar species are called bird's-nest ferns, the Camptosorus group is known as walking fern
Walking fern

Walking fern may refer to two species of fern in the genus Asplenium which are occasionally placed in a separate genus Camptosorus. The name "walking fern" derives from the fact that new plantlets grow wherever the arching leaves of the parent touch the ground, creating a walking effect....
s, and distinct names are applied to some other particularly well-known species.

Uses

Both the scientific name and the common name "spleenwort" are derived from an old belief, based on the doctrine of signatures
Doctrine of signatures

The doctrine of signatures is a philosophy shared by herbalists from the time of Dioscurides and Galen which is still reflected in the common names of some plants whose coincidental shapes and colors reminded the gatherers of such Herbalisms of the parts of the body where they could do good: liverwort; snakeroot, an antidote for snake venom;...
, that the fern was useful for ailments of the spleen
Spleen

The spleen is an organ found in all vertebrate animals. In humans, the spleen is located in the abdomen of the body, where it functions in the destruction of redundant red blood cells, and holds a reservoir of blood....
, due to the spleen-shaped sori
Sorus

A sorus is a cluster of sporangium.In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....
 on the backs of the frond
Frond

A frond is a large leaf with many divisions to it, and the term is typically used for the leaves of Arecaceaes, ferns or cycads. A frond is the leaf- like structure of a fern or alga....
s. "-wort" is an ancient English term that simply means "plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
" (compare German -wurz).

A few of these ferns have some economic importance in the horticulture
Horticulture

'Horticulture' is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, Crop , plant breeding and genetic engineering, plant biochemistry, and plant physiology....
 trade. The bird's-nest ferns (A. nidus
Asplenium nidus

Asplenium nidus is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, northern Queensland in Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and eastern Africa....
 and several very similar, closely related species) are commonly found for sale as a house plant. The Australian Mother Spleenwort (A. bulbiferum is sometimes available at greenhouse
Greenhouse

A greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building....
s, and is of interest, along with the related A. viviparum, for the many small bulblets borne on the fronds that may grow into new plants. This characteristic is also shared with the eastern North American Walking Fern
Walking fern

Walking fern may refer to two species of fern in the genus Asplenium which are occasionally placed in a separate genus Camptosorus. The name "walking fern" derives from the fact that new plantlets grow wherever the arching leaves of the parent touch the ground, creating a walking effect....
 (A. rhizophyllum) and several Mexican species including A. palmeri. The Ebony Spleenwort
Ebony spleenwort

Asplenium platyneuron is a species of Asplenium with a peculiar distribution in two continents. In North America it is native almost throughout the eastern United States, and in the far southeast of Canada; there are also isolated small populations in New Mexico, Arizona and the West Indies....
 A. platyneuron is also sometimes sold in nurseries as a hardy plant. However, many spleenworts are epipetric or epiphytic
Epiphyte

File:Cadzow oak epiphyte 2.JPGAn epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attaches to a living plant. Epiphyte is one of the subdivisions of the Raunki?r plant life-form....
 and difficult to cultivate.

Asplenium species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species including Batrachedra bedelliella which feeds exclusively on A. nidus. For diseases of Asplenium, see List of foliage plant diseases (Polypodiaceae)
List of foliage plant diseases (Polypodiaceae)

This is a list of diseases of foliage plants belonging to the family Polypodiaceae....
.

Selected species

Asplenium Ruta Muraria
* Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. – Black Spleenwort (= A. lucidum Burm.f.)
    • Asplenium adiantum-nigrum ssp. adiantum-nigrum
    • Asplenium adiantum-nigrum ssp. serpentini (Tausch) Koch
  • Asplenium adulterinum Milde – Ladder Spleenwort
  • Asplenium aequibasis
    Asplenium aequibasis

    Asplenium aequibasis is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Saint Helena. Its natural habitat is subantarctic shrubland....
  • Asplenium aethiopicum
  • Asplenium africanum
  • Asplenium × alternifolium Wulf.
  • Asplenium angustum Sw.
  • Asplenium antiquum Makino
  • Asplenium ascensionis
    Asplenium ascensionis

    Asplenium ascensionis is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Saint Helena. Category:Flora of Saint Helena Its natural habitats are introduced vegetation....
  • Asplenium attenuatum R.Br.
  • Asplenium aureum (sometimes in Ceterach)
  • Asplenium auritum
  • Asplenium australasicum (J.Sm.) Hook. – Crow's-nest Fern
    • Asplenium australasicum f. australasicum
    • Asplenium australasicum f. robinsonii
  • Asplenium azoricum Lovis, Rasbach & Reichst.
  • Asplenium azomanes
    Asplenium azomanes

    Asplenium azomanes is an allotetraploid hybrid fern of the Aspleniaceae family. It was found for the first time in the Soller Valley in the Sierra de Tramontana of the island of Mallorca, Spain, and described by botanists, Spaniards and Germans, at the same time....
  • Asplenium bifrons
    Asplenium bifrons

    Asplenium bifrons is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Category:Flora of Ecuador Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Asplenium billottii – Lanceolate Spleenwort
  • Asplenium bipinnatifidum
  • Asplenium brachycarpum
  • Asplenium bradleyi
  • Asplenium bulbiferum
    Asplenium bulbiferum

    Mother spleenwort, Asplenium bulbiferum, is a fern species native to New Zealand. It is also called Hen and Chicken fern, and in the Maori language mouku....
     – Mother Spleenwort, Hen and Chickens Fern, mouku (Maori
    Maori language

    Maori or te reo Maori, also commonly shortened to te reo , functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. Linguists classify it within the Eastern Polynesian languages as closely related to Cook Islands Maori, Tuamotuan language and Tahitian language; somewhat less closely to Hawaiian language and Marquesan language; a...
    )
  • Asplenium cardiophyllum
    Asplenium cardiophyllum

    Asplenium cardiophyllum is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to China. Category:Flora of China Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
  • Asplenium caudatum
  • Asplenium ceterach – Rustyback Fern (sometimes in Ceterach)
  • Asplenium cheilosorum
  • Asplenium compressum Sw.
  • Asplenium congestum
    Asplenium congestum

    Asplenium congestum is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Category:Flora of Ecuador Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Asplenium corderoanum
  • Asplenium crinicaule
  • Asplenium cristatum
  • Asplenium cuneifolium – Serpentine Spleenwort
  • Asplenium cymbifolium
  • Asplenium dalhousiae (sometimes in Ceterach)
  • Asplenium dareoides
  • Asplenium daucifolium – Mauritius Spleenwort
  • Asplenium difforme R.Br.
  • Asplenium fissum
  • Asplenium dimorphum – Norfolk Island Spleenwort
  • Asplenium divaricatum
  • Asplenium dregeanum
  • Asplenium ebenoides
  • Asplenium ecuadorense
    Asplenium ecuadorense

    Asplenium ecuadorense is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Category:Flora of Ecuador Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Asplenium euneifolium Viv. (= A. forsteri auct. non Sadl.)
  • Asplenium feei Kunze ex Fée
  • Asplenium fissum
  • Asplenium flabellifolium – Necklace Fern
  • Asplenium flaccidum G.Forst. – Weeping Spleenwort, Hanging Spleenwort
  • Asplenium fontanum (L.) Bernh. – Smooth Rock Spleenwort
  • Asplenium forisiense – Rock Spleenwort
  • Asplenium formosum
  • Asplenium gemmiferum Schrad.
  • Asplenium germanicum
  • Asplenium gueinzii Mett.
  • Asplenium hemionitis
  • Asplenium hookerianum Colenso
  • Asplenium hybridum
  • Asplenium incisum
  • Asplenium laciniatum
  • Asplenium lamprophyllum Carse
  • Asplenium laserpitiifolium – Johnston River Fern
  • Asplenium lepidum C.Presl
  • Asplenium listeri – Christmas Island Spleenwort
  • Asplenium longissimum
  • Asplenium lucidum
  • Asplenium lunulatum
  • Asplenium lyallii
  • Asplenium majoricum
    Asplenium majoricum

    Asplenium majoricum is a tiny fern endemism to Mallorca and some locations in Valencia. It belongs to the Aspleniaceae family. This allotetraploid hybrid is the result of crossbreeding between the diploid ferns Asplenium fontanum subsp....
  • Asplenium marinum – Sea Spleenwort
  • Asplenium milnei Carruth.
  • Asplenium montanum – Mountain Spleenwort
  • Asplenium musifolium
  • Asplenium nidus
    Asplenium nidus

    Asplenium nidus is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, northern Queensland in Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and eastern Africa....
     – "bird's-nest fern"
  • Asplenium normale
  • Asplenium obliquum
  • Asplenium oblongifolium Colenso – Shining Spleenwort (= A. lucidum auct. non Burm.f., sensu G.Forst.)
  • Asplenium obovatum
  • Asplenium obtusatum G.Forst.
    • Asplenium obtusatum ssp. northlandicum (Brownsey) Ogle (possibly distinct species)
    • Asplenium obtusatum 'Chile' (possibly distinct species, sometimes included in A. obliquum)
  • Asplenium oligolepidum C.Chr. (= A. lucidum auct. non Burm.f., sensu G.Forst.)
  • Asplenium oligophlebium
  • Asplenium onopteris L. – Western Black Spleenwort, Irish Spleenwort (sometimes included in A. adiantum-nigrum)
  • Asplenium pacificum
  • Asplenium paleaceum R.Br. – Chaffy Spleenwort
  • Asplenium palmeri
  • Asplenium petrarchae
    Asplenium petrarchae

    Asplenium petrarchae is a tiny fern of the family Aspleniaceae. Its fronds are densely pubescent-glandular with length between 5 and 14 cm. Petiole less than the sheet of dark brown and shiny....
  • Asplenium pinnatifidum – Lobed Spleenwort
  • Asplenium planicaule
  • Asplenium platybasis Kunze ex Mett.
  • Asplenium platyneuron – Ebony Spleenwort
    Ebony spleenwort

    Asplenium platyneuron is a species of Asplenium with a peculiar distribution in two continents. In North America it is native almost throughout the eastern United States, and in the far southeast of Canada; there are also isolated small populations in New Mexico, Arizona and the West Indies....
  • Asplenium polyodon G.Forst. – Sickle Spleenwort
  • Asplenium praemorsum
  • Asplenium prolongatum Hook.
  • Asplenium pteridioides
  • Asplenium resiliens – Black-stemmed Spleenwort
  • Asplenium rhizophyllum
    Asplenium rhizophyllum

    Asplenium rhizophyllum, the American Walking Fern, is a rare, low lying fern native to North America. It is a close relative of Asplenium ruprechtii which is found in East Asia and also goes by the common name of walking fern....
      – American Walking Fern (sometimes in Camptosorus)
  • Asplenium richardii
  • Asplenium ruprechtii
    Asplenium ruprechtii

    Asplenium ruprechtii, which goes by the common name Asian Walking Fern, is a rare, hardy, low lying fern native to East Asia. It is a close relative of Asplenium rhizophyllum which is found in North America and also goes by the common name of walking fern....
     – Asian Walking Fern (sometimes in Camptosorus)
  • Asplenium ruta-muraria L. – Wall-rue, Wall-rue Spleenwort
  • Asplenium rustifolium
  • Asplenium sagittatum – Mule's Spleenwort (sometimes in Phyllitis)
  • Asplenium sandersonii Hook.
  • Asplenium schweinfurthii
    Asplenium schweinfurthii

    Asplenium schweinfurthii is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland....
  • Asplenium scleroprium
  • Asplenium scolopendrium – Hart's-tongue (sometimes in Phyllitis)
    • Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum – American Hart's-tongue
  • Asplenium seelosii
  • Asplenium septentrionale
    Asplenium septentrionale

    Asplenium septentrionale is a species of fern known by the common names northern spleenwort and forked spleenwort. It is native to western North America, Europe, and Asia, where it grows in rocky areas....
     – Forked Spleenwort, Northern Spleenwort
  • Asplenium septentrionale × trichomanes Wulf.
  • Asplenium serra
  • Asplenium serratum
    Asplenium serratum

    Asplenium serratum is a fern native to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States. It is rare in central and southern Florida, where it is a state-listed endangered species....
     – Wild Bird's-nest Fern
  • Asplenium sessilifolium
  • Asplenium shuttleworthianum Kunze
  • Asplenium simplicifrons F.Muell.
  • Asplenium splendens
  • Asplenium surrogatum P.S.Green
  • Asplenium tenerum G.Forst.
  • Asplenium terrestre
  • Asplenium theciferum (Kunth) Mett.
  • Asplenium thunbergii
  • Asplenium trichomanes
    Asplenium trichomanes

    Asplenium trichomanes is a small fern in the spleenwort genus Asplenium. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats....
     – Maidenhair Spleenwort
    • Asplenium trichomanes ssp. quadrivalens D.E. Meyer
    • Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes
  • Asplenium trichomanes-ramosum – Bright-green Spleenwort
  • Asplenium unilaterale
  • Asplenium vespertinum
    Asplenium vespertinum

    Asplenium vespertinum is a species of fern known by the common name western spleenwort. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in moist, shady, rocky places, such as the shadows beneath cliff overhangs....
  • Asplenium vieillardii Mett.
  • Asplenium virens
    Asplenium virens

    Asplenium virens is a species of fern in the Aspleniaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Category:Flora of Ecuador Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Asplenium viride Huds. – Green Spleenwort
  • Asplenium vittiforme
  • Asplenium viviparum


See also

  • Mount Asplenium
  • Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
    Phyllocladus aspleniifolius

    Phyllocladus aspleniifolius is an endemic gymnosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is found in rainforest as a dominant, in eucalypt forest as an understorey species, and occurs occasionally as a shrub in alpine vegetation....
     (Celery-top Pine, a conifer with Asplenium-like leaves)


Footnotes