''Asplenium appendiculatum'' (formerly known as ''Asplenium terrestre''), ground spleenwort, is a common native fern to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It usually grows in cool damp conditions, among rocks, on logs or as an epiphyte.

Description

''Asplenium appendiculatum '' has foliage that is dark green, with blades that are 100-300 × 50–150 mm long, leathery and slightly drooping.de Lange, P.J. (2018): ''Asplenium appendiculatum'' subsp. ''appendiculatum'' Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=2053 ccessed 7 Mar. 2018 Blade is lanceolate (slightly wider at a short distance above the base, tapering to a point at the tip) to oblong (tapering at the ends but about the same width throughout) in shape. Stipe (stalk below the blade) is 50–150 mm long is grooved, green above, brown below and scattered with narrow triangle scales. The rachis (stalk within the blade) is green, scaly and prominently ridged. Pinnae (leaflets) are 8-20 alternate pairs, ranging from 30-100mm long × 5-30mm wide. Those at the base of the blade are ovate with those towards the tip, very narrowly ovate or elliptic. They are often long and relatively undivided tips. Stalks are covered with tiny scales on the underside. Pinnules at the base of the blade are narrowly elliptic and pinnate, up to 30 x 8mm. Pinnules towards the tip of the blade are linear, entire and sessile. Rhizomes (underground stems) are short and are covered with linear, tapering dark brown scales. Each pinnule on a fertile frond has sori. They are sub marginal and 2-7mm, oblong in shape.Spencer, R. (1995). ''Ferns, conifers & their allies''. Sydney, NSW: University of New South Wales Press. Asplenium appendiculatum Sori

''Asplenium appendiculatum '' is often confused with ''

Asplenium bulbiferum ''Asplenium bulbiferum'', known as mother spleenwort, is a fern species native to New Zealand only. It is also called hen and chicken fern and, in the Māori language, pikopiko, mouku or mauku. Its fronds are eaten as a vegetable. It grows sma ...

'', however lacks bulbils (vegetative clones of the fern).Garrett, Michael. & Tasmanian Forest Research Council. (1996). ''The Ferns of Tasmania : Their Ecology and Distribution''. Hobart, Tas : Tasmanian Forest Research Council.

Taxonomy and Name

Both the common and scientific name ‘spleenwort’ is derived from ''Asplenium'' species being used under the

doctrine of signatures The doctrine of signatures, dating from the time of Dioscorides and Galen, states that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used by herbalists to treat ailments of those body parts. A theological justification, as stated by botanists ...

, to treat ailments of the

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

. This was belief was based on the

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

shaped sori. ‘Wort’ is an ancient English term that means ‘plant’. The species name ''appendiculatum,'' is Latin for 'with appendages.Diggs, G.M. and Lipscomb, B.L. (2014). The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas. Texas: Botanical Research Institute of Texas. ''Asplenium appendiculatum'' was formerly known as ''Asplenium terrestre'', meaning ground dwelling. This name was derived from its terrestrial growth habit in

, where it was discovered by P. J. Brownsey in 1977.Duncan, B. and Isaac, G. (1986). ''Ferns and allied plants of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia''. Carlton: Melbourne University Press in assoc. with Monash University.Goudey, C. (1989). ''A handbook of ferns for Australia and New Zealand''. Melbourne: Lothian Publishing Company Pty. Ltd. It was once thought to be endemic to

Taxonomy

A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. appendiculatum'' belongs to the "''Neottopteris'' clade", members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue. It forms a clade with '' A. flaccidum'' and '' A. chathamense''.

Habitat and distribution

Tasmania

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

''Asplenium appendiculatum '' grows in wet sclerophyll forests, fern gullies and rocky outcrops on low mountain summits. It often grows as an epiphyte on

Dicksonia antarctica ''Dicksonia antarctica'', the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. Anatomy and biology These ferns ...

and on logs and other tree species.

Victoria

''Asplenium appendiculatum'' is rare in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It has been observed in the Victoria Range, Mt Mueller and

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nearb ...

.Messina, A. (2014). ''Asplenium appendiculatum subsp. appendiculatum''. nlineFlora of Victoria. Available at: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/9f246d9f-8982-4c1f-9803-9baa656c9553 ccessed 8 Mar. 2018

New Zealand

, ''Asplenium appendiculatum '' grows in lowland to subalpine forested areas, but is also found in bluffs and rocky outcrops in grey scrub.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q17054656 appendiculatum Ferns of New Zealand