| Asplenium scolopendrium | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Suborder: | Aspleniineae |
| Family: | Aspleniaceae |
| Genus: | Asplenium |
| Species: | A. scolopendrium |
| Binomial name | |
| Asplenium scolopendrium | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Asplenium scolopendrium, commonly known as the hart's-tongue fern, [3] is an evergreen fern in the family Aspleniaceae native to the Northern Hemisphere.
The most striking and unusual feature of the fern is its simple, strap-shaped undivided fronds. The supposed resemblance of the leaves to the tongue of a hart (an archaic term for a male red deer) gave rise to the common name "hart's-tongue fern".
Linnaeus first gave the hart's-tongue fern the binomial Asplenium scolopendrium in his Species Plantarum of 1753. [4] The Latin specific epithet scolopendrium is derived from the Greek skolopendra, meaning a centipede or millipede; this is due to the sori pattern being reminiscent of a myriapod's legs. [5] [6]
A global phylogeny of Asplenium published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, [7] which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. A. scolopendrium belongs to the "Phyllitis subclade" of the "Phyllitis clade". [8] Members of the Phyllitis clade have undivided or pinnatifid leaf blades with a thick, leathery texture, persistent scales on their stalk, and often possess anastomosing veins. Members of the Phyllitis subclade have undivided leaves with freely branching veins and single or paired sori. They are widely distributed through the Northern Hemisphere. [9] If defined to include the former A. komarovii , A. scolopendrium makes up the former segregate genus Phyllitis and is sister to A. sagittatum . [8]
Three subspecies were accepted in the most recent revision of the species: [10]
Morphological differences between the varieties are minor, but the North American variety americanum is tetraploid, while the Old World subspecies A. scolopendrium scolopendrium) is diploid. [11]
Asplenium scolopendrium is a common species in the Old World:
In North America, it occurs in rare, widely scattered populations located in different locales:
In East Asia, A. scolopendrium subsp. japonicum is distributed in the Russian Far East, north-eastern China and the Korean Peninsula, however it is considered as being generally rare on the mainland. [13] [22] [23] [24] In contrast, it is relatively abundant on many islands including the Japanese Archipelago. [13]
The unique dispersal of Asplenium scolopendrium has caught the attention of international botanists. In fact, the very existence of such varieties beg that "...these populations arose following colonization events involving a single spore". [25]
The plants grow on neutral, calcium-rich, and/or lime-rich substrates under deciduous hardwood canopies (usually sugar maples in eastern North America), including moist soil and damp crevices in old walls; they are found most commonly in shaded areas. Plants in full sun are usually stunted and yellowish in colour, while those in full shade are dark green and healthy. The disjunct populations of the North American variation in the southeastern US are found exclusively in sinkhole pits or limestone caves. [26] These populations may be relics of cooler Pleistocene climates. [19]
The most recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessment for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was conducted in 2016, with the conservation status of Asplenium scolopendrium being listed as being a species of Least Concern (LC). Despite the positive status, this assessment is chiefly limited to the conservation situation of A. scolopendrium in Europe, as opposed to other parts of its natural range. [12]
Asplenium scolopendrium is found across the vast majority of European countries, in a wide variety of natural settings, across a multitude of habitats. [13] It is also able to colonise manmade environments including growing in walls and brickwork crevices, particularly in limestone mortar. Furthermore, it is considered to be a gregarious species - it is able to spread both sexually and asexually, frequently forming large clumps and present in high densities - in some areas it is considered very common. [12]
Across Europe as a whole, the IUCN assessed no immediate threats to this species in natural settings, and predicted that the species may benefit from milder wetter winters predicted under various climate change scenarios. [12] In the urban environment, where A. scolopendrium frequently grows on vertical faces and in crevices of lime mortared brick walls, the species may be threatened by wall renovation projects. [12] Although the fern is often cultivated as a garden plant or used in landscape planting, commercially sold plants are sourced from horticultural stock. [12] [27]
Asplenium scolopendrium is not a specifically protected species in the majority of European states, however in part due to its wide distribution, A. scolopendrium inhabits a large number of legally protected areas across the continent. Despite this, it is considered to be declining in numbers or a species at risk in certain parts of its range. [12] Asplenium scolopendrium was first listed as "Vulnerable" in the National Red Lists for Albania in 2014 [28] and Norway in 2010 (under Criterion D1, that is, having a very small population of under 1000 individuals). [29] It is considered "critically threatened and rare" in the Czech Republic's 2012 plant Red List; [30] and "Endangered" in Sweden's 2010 Red List. [31] The species has been protected by law in the Netherlands since 1998. [32]
In the United States, A. scolopendrium var. americanum was declared endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1989. [26] The reasons for its rarity are currently being researched, with reintroduction programs in New York and elsewhere also in development. [33]
Ontario, Canada has the highest population numbers of A. scolopendrium var. americanum of any region in the variation's distribution, with around 80% of all subpopulations and around 94% of all individuals. The fern was reported at more than 100 sites across the province, with around 75 still believed to be existing. Despite this, A. scolopendrium var. americanum was listed as a species of Special Concern under the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario in May 2017, due to its extremely specific habitat requirements, relatively small distribution, and some subpopulations consisting of too little individuals. [34] [35]
Asplenium scolopendrium is often grown as an ornamental plant, with several cultivars selected with varying frond form, including with frilled frond margins, forked fronds and cristate forms. The species has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, [36] as has the cultivar 'Angustatum'. [37]
The American variety is reputed to be difficult to cultivate (making conservation efforts for it even more troublesome); due to this, most, if not all, cultivated individuals are derived from the Old World subspecies. [38]
This fern was used in the 1800s as a medicinal plant in folk medicine as a spleen tonic (hence an archaic name for the genus, "spleenworts") and for other uses. [39] "Hartstongue Ale" is mentioned in the recipe book of Katharine Palmer (compiled from 1700). [40] It was made by putting three leaves of hart's-tongue fern into a bottle of ale.
The Aspleniaceae (spleenworts) are a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales. The composition and classification of the family have been subject to considerable changes. In particular, there is a narrow circumscription, Aspleniaceae s.s., in which the family contains only two genera, and a very broad one, Aspleniaceae s.l., in which the family includes 10 other families kept separate in the narrow circumscription, with the Aspleniaceae s.s. being reduced to the subfamily Asplenioideae. The family has a worldwide distribution, with many species in both temperate and tropical areas. Elongated unpaired sori are an important characteristic of most members of the family.
Asplenium is a genus of about 700 species of ferns, often treated as the only genus in the family Aspleniaceae, though other authors consider Hymenasplenium separate, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, a different chromosome count, and structural differences in the rhizomes. The type species for the genus is Asplenium marinum.
Asplenium platyneuron, commonly known as ebony spleenwort or brownstem spleenwort, is a fern native to North America east of the Rocky Mountains. It takes its common name from its dark, reddish-brown, glossy stipe and rachis, which support a once-divided, pinnate leaf. The fertile fronds, which die off in the winter, are darker green and stand upright, while the sterile fronds are evergreen and lie flat on the ground. An auricle at the base of each pinna points towards the tip of the frond. The dimorphic fronds and alternate, rather than opposite, pinnae distinguish it from the similar black-stemmed spleenwort.
Asplenium nidus is an epiphytic species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, eastern Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and eastern Africa. It is known by the common names bird's-nest fern or simply nest fern.
Osmunda regalis, or royal fern, is a species of deciduous fern, native to Europe, Africa and Asia, growing in woodland bogs and on the banks of streams. The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fronds.
Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge is a 199-acre (0.8 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in northeastern Alabama, near Paint Rock, Alabama in Jackson County.
Asplenium rhizophyllum, the (American) walking fern, is a frequently-occurring 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".
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. The species should not be confused with Asplenium sibiricum which is a synonym of Diplazium sibiricum.
Asplenium ceterach, also known as the rustyback fern, is a fern species in the spleenwort family Aspleniaceae.
Asplenium trichomanes, the maidenhair spleenwort, 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. It is a variable fern with several subspecies.
Asplenium septentrionale is a species of fern known by the common names northern spleenwort and forked spleenwort. It is native to Europe, Asia and western North America, where it grows on rocks. Its long, slender leaves give it a distinctive appearance. Three subspecies exist, corresponding to a tetraploid and a diploid cytotype and their triploid hybrid.
Asplenium australasicum, the bird's nest fern or crow's nest fern, is an epiphytic Australasian species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae.
Asplenium pinnatifidum, commonly known as the lobed spleenwort or pinnatifid spleenwort, is a small fern found principally in the Appalachian Mountains and the Shawnee Hills, growing in rock crevices in moderately acid to subacid strata. Originally identified as a variety of walking fern, it was classified as a separate species by Thomas Nuttall in 1818. It is believed to have originated by chromosome doubling in a hybrid between walking fern and mountain spleenwort, producing a fertile tetraploid, a phenomenon known as alloploidy; however, the hypothesized parental hybrid has never been located. It is intermediate in morphology between the parent species: while its leaf blades are long and tapering like that of walking fern, the influence of mountain spleenwort means that the blades are lobed, rather than whole. A. pinnatifidum can itself form sterile hybrids with several other spleenworts.
The Beaver Valley is a valley in southern Ontario, Canada, at the southern tip of Georgian Bay. The Beaver River flows north through the valley, emptying into Georgian Bay in the town of Thornbury. It is a productive agricultural area, producing a significant portion of Canada's apple crop. It also contains one of Ontario's best-preserved hardwood swamp ecosystems. The Bruce Trail follows the perimeter of the valley passing several natural landmarks including Old Baldy, the Duncan Crevice Caves, and Eugenia Falls. The main towns in the valley are Flesherton at the south end, Kimberley, and Thornbury.
Asplenium ruta-muraria is a species of fern commonly known as wall-rue. It is a very small epipetric species, growing exclusively on limestone and other calcareous rocks. Its fronds are bluish-green and are heavily sub-divided, becoming up to 12 cm in length.
Fern sports are plants that show marked change from the normal type or parent stock as a result of mutation. The term Morphotype is also used for any of a group of different types of individuals of the same species in a population. Fern fronds in sports are typically altered in several ways, such as the frond apex divided and pinnae similarly duplicated.
Pteris cretica, the Cretan brake, ribbon fern, or Cretan brake fern, is a species of evergreen fern in the family Pteridaceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa.
Asplenium fontanum, commonly known as fountain spleenwort or smooth rock spleenwort, is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to rocky areas in Western Europe.
Psychoides filicivora is a moth of the family Tineidae first described by Edward Meyrick in 1937. First found in Ireland in 1909, it is possible that the moth was introduced from imported ferns from Asia. The moth can be found from spring though autumn in a series of generations. The species overwinters as a larva.
Psychoides verhuella is a moth of the family Tineidae found in Europe. It was first described in 1853, by Charles Théophile Bruand d'Uzelle from a specimen from Besançon, France. It is the type species of the genus Psychoides, also raised by Charles Bruand in 1853. The larvae feed on ferns.
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