Asplenium surrogatum | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Polypodiales |
Suborder: | Aspleniineae |
Family: | Aspleniaceae |
Genus: | Asplenium |
Species: | A. surrogatum |
Binomial name | |
Asplenium surrogatum | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Asplenium surrogatum is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae. [1] [2] It is endemic to Australia's subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It grows both terrestrially and as an epiphyte. It occurs in forest at high elevations on the island's mountains. [3]
A global phylogeny of Asplenium published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, [4] which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. A. surrogatum belongs to the "Neottopteris clade", [5] members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue. It forms a clade with A. milnei and A. pteridoides , two other Lord Howe Island endemics, suggesting that all three species diverged after a single colonization of the island by their ancestor. [6] This clade is sister to a large group of Pacific Ocean spleenworts. [5]