''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''coriaceifolium'' is an
allotetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
hybrid
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
(2''n'' = 144 chromosomes) of the family
Aspleniaceae
The Aspleniaceae (spleenworts) are a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales. The composition and classification of the family have been subject to considerable changes. In particular, there is a narrow circumscription, Aspleniaceae ...
. It was found for the first time in the Soller Valley in the
Serra de Tramuntana of the island of
Mallorca, Spain
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
, and described by both Spanish and German botanists at the same time. The Spaniards gave it the name ''Asplenium azomanes''.
Its
frond
A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...
s are coriacea as plastic and the
rachis
In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft".
In zoology and microbiology
In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...
is very thick, dark garnet color and brilliance. A typical feature of this fern is the existence of a small atrium at the base of the pinnae medium and lower geared towards the apex of the frond with one or two sori in its underside. Sporulation occurs from October to March.
Habitat
It lives among the stones of the walls of the terraces and in the crevices of limestone rocks oriented to the north and northwest. Depending on the degree of exposure to the sun, its phenotype changes a lot, becoming more coriaceous the more sunlight it receives. In the driest months of summer comes into estivation, dehydrating their fronds, reaching apparently dead. With the first rains of autumn, the fern rehydrate the dried fronds and turn green quickly.
Distribution
Its population is distributed in three locations separated by the Mediterranean Sea: the
Balearic Islands (Mallorca,
Ibiza and
Formentera), south of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
(Albacete, Jaen, Malaga and Cadiz) and the north of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
(from Chefchaouen in Western Rif until the rocks surrounding the Caves of Chameau in Mountains of Beni Snassen).
Hybrids
*''Asplenium × tubalense'' (''Asplenium trichomanes'' nothosubsp. ''barreraense''): allotetraploid hybrid between ''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''coriaceifolium'' and ''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''quadrivalens''.
*''Asplenium trichomanes'' nothosubsp. ''malacitense'': hexaploid hybrid between ''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''coriaceifolium'' and ''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''inexpectans''.
References
''Asplenium trichomanes'' subsp. ''coriaceifolium'' (''Asplenium azomanes'') in the Natural Park of Sierra de Grazalema''Asplenium trichomanes subsp. coriaceifolium'' in Morocco
* "Les falgueres de les Balears", de Guillem Alomar, Edicions Documenta Balear S.L., in Catalan language.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2134282
trichomanes subsp. coriaceifolium
Plant subspecies
Flora of the Balearic Islands