''Asplenium azoricum'' is a

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 except t ...

from hybrid origin 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 ...

, descendant of the Macaronesian ancestral fern ''

Asplenium anceps ''Asplenium anceps'' is a diploid fern of family Aspleniaceae and one of the ancestors of the ferns that form the trichomanes complex. It lives exclusively in the three northernmost archipelagoes of the Macaronesian region, that is, is an endemic ...

''. It lives exclusively in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, that is a strict endemic Azorean fern. Its fronds are coriaceous like plastic and its rachis is very thick, dark garnet color and brilliance. A typical feature of this fern, which it shares with all the descendants of ''A. anceps'', is the existence of a small atrium at the base of the medium and lower pinnae geared towards the apex of the frond with one or two sori in its underside.

Habitat

It lives among the stones of the walls of the terraces and in the crevices of volcanic 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.

Distribution

It lives in the nine Azores Islands.

Hybrids

*'' Asplenium azomanes'' (''A. trichomanes'' ssp. ''coriaceifolium''): allotetraploid hybrid between ''A. azoricum'' and '' A. trichomanes''.

References

Azorean ferns database: Asplenium azoricumAsplenium azoricum in the American Fern Journal
azoricum Endemic flora of the Azores Hybrid plants Plants described in 1977 {{Polypodiales-stub