Asplenium appendiculatum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Asplenium appendiculatum |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Asplenium
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| Species: |
appendiculatum
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Asplenium appendiculatum, also known as the ground spleenwort, is a common fern. It grows naturally in Australia and New Zealand. This fern usually prefers cool and damp places. You can often find it growing among rocks, on old logs, or sometimes even on other plants. When it grows on other plants, it's called an epiphyte.
Contents
What it Looks Like
Asplenium appendiculatum has dark green leaves, called fronds. The main part of the leaf, called the blade, is usually 100 to 300 millimeters long and 50 to 150 millimeters wide. It feels a bit leathery and hangs down slightly. The blade is often shaped like a spearhead (wider near the base and tapering to a point) or like a rectangle (about the same width throughout).
The stipe is the stalk that holds the blade. It's 50 to 150 millimeters long and has a groove. It's green on top and brown underneath. Small, narrow scales are scattered on it. The rachis is the main stem inside the blade. It's green, scaly, and has clear ridges.
The fronds have 8 to 20 pairs of smaller leaf parts called pinnae. These pinnae grow alternately along the rachis. They are 30 to 100 millimeters long and 5 to 30 millimeters wide. The pinnae near the base are oval-shaped, while those closer to the tip are very narrow or oval. They often have long, mostly undivided tips. The stalks of these pinnae have tiny scales on their underside.
Even smaller leaf parts, called pinnules, grow on the pinnae. The pinnules at the base of the blade are narrow and oval, up to 30 by 8 millimeters. The pinnules closer to the tip are long and thin, with smooth edges, and they don't have their own stalks.
The fern's underground stems are called rhizomes. They are short and covered with long, tapering dark brown scales.
Each pinnule on a fertile frond has special spore cases called sori. These sori are found near the edges of the pinnules and are usually 2 to 7 millimeters long and oblong in shape. This is where the fern produces its spores to reproduce.
People sometimes confuse Asplenium appendiculatum with another fern, Asplenium bulbiferum. However, Asplenium appendiculatum does not have small plantlets (called bulbils) growing on its fronds, which Asplenium bulbiferum does.
Name and History
The common name 'spleenwort' and the scientific name Asplenium come from an old belief. People once thought that plants with parts shaped like human organs could treat problems with those organs. This idea was called the doctrine of signatures. Since the spore cases (sori) on these ferns looked a bit like a spleen, people used them to treat spleen issues. The word 'wort' is an old English term for 'plant'.
The species name appendiculatum is Latin. It means 'with appendages', which refers to some of its features.
This fern was once known as Asplenium terrestre. That name means 'ground dwelling'. It got this name because it often grows on the ground in New Zealand, where it was first discovered in 1977 by P.J. Brownsey. For a while, people thought it only grew in New Zealand.
Where it Grows
In Tasmania
In Tasmania, Asplenium appendiculatum likes to grow in wet sclerophyll forests. These are forests with tough-leaved trees. It also grows in fern gullies and on rocky parts of low mountains. It often grows as an epiphyte (on other plants) on Dicksonia antarctica and on logs or other tree species.
In Victoria
Asplenium appendiculatum is quite rare in Victoria. It has only been seen in a few places, such as the Victoria Range, Mt Mueller, and Wilsons Promontory.
In New Zealand
In New Zealand, you can find Asplenium appendiculatum in forested areas, from lowlands up to subalpine regions. It also grows on bluffs and rocky outcrops in areas with dense, low-growing shrubs, sometimes called 'grey scrub'.
See Also
- Asplenium
