Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Maidenhair Spleenwort
Asplenium trichomanes
Spleenwort Ferns family (Aspleniaceae)

Maidenhair Spleenwort is commonly found on moist, north facing cliffs, particularly on ledges and in crevices, and in talus at the base of cliffs. The fern is found in most states and provinces and it is circumboreal, but it is uncommon in the Rocky Mountains. The rocky habitats it prefers are often isolated habitats, making the species vulnerable to localized microclimate changes and plant collectors, who find the distinctive shape of Maidenhair Spleenwort not only distinctive, but desirable for harvesting. "Asplenon," from the Greek "a" ("without") and "splen" ("spleen") was the name given by Dioscorides to a fern species which he believed had the power to cure spleen diseases. "Trichomanes" means "with soft hairs."


©2014 Susan McDougall, Trees Live Here.

Description

Small fern with 3-6 inches long growing in asymmetrical clump. are and bear leaf segments () that are with round margins notched on their upper edges. have small and they are reduced in size toward the end of the . (leaf ) is dark purple-brown, wiry, and persists after the have dropped. -clusters are borne on veinlets on the underside of .

Field Marks

Small fern in rocky niches with bearing with rounded tips.

© Al Schneider

An evergreen tree retains a large portion of its green leaves all year.

pinnae -- the primary segments of a compound leaf.

frond -- a large, divided leaf. The leaves of most ferns are fronds.

spores are produced by ferns, horsetails, and other primitive plants. Spores are like tiny seeds, but they lack food for the plant embryo. Because spores are easily carried aloft by the wind, they allow ferns and horsetails to reproduce asexually across considerable distances.

A stipe is a small stalk that supports some other structure. In ferns, the stalk of a frond; generally a small stalk.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.

elongate -- long and thin, slender.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.