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Black spleenwort facts for kids

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Black spleenwort
Asplenium adiantum-nigrum 030208.jpg
Conservation status

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Genus:
Asplenium
Species:
adiantum-nigrum
Synonyms
  • Asplenium andrewsii A.Nelson
  • Asplenium lucidum Burm.f.

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum is a common species of fern known by the common name black spleenwort. It is found mostly in Africa, Europe, and Eurasia, but is also native to a few locales in Mexico and the United States.

Description

This spleenwort has thick, triangular leaf blades up to 10 centimeters long which are divided into several subdivided segments. It is borne on a reddish green petiole and the rachis is shiny and slightly hairy. The undersides of each leaf segment have one or more sori arranged in chains.

Taxonomy

A chloroplast phylogeny verified the allopolyploid origin of A. adiantum-nigrum, with A. cuneifolium supplying the paternal genome and A. onopteris the maternal genome.

Native distribution

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum is native to:
Africa
Asia
Europe
Macaronesia
North America
Oceania

In Hawaii, this native fern grows on cinder cones and lava flows, and it is present in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Asplenium adiantum-nigrum para niños

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