Species of ferns in the family Aspleniaceae
Asplenium adiantum-nigrum is a common species of fern known by the common name black spleenwort.[3] It is found mostly in Africa, Europe, and Eurasia, but is also native to a few locales in Mexico and the United States.[3][4]
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[4] arranged in chains.[5]
Taxonomy
Linnaeus was the first to describe black spleenwort with the binomial Asplenium adiantum-nigrum in his Species Plantarum of 1753.[6]
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,[8] and it is present in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.[5]
