Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Asplenium monanthes

Asplenium

single-sorus fern, single-sorus spleenwort

spleenwort
Roots

not proliferous.

fibrous, not proliferous or proliferous and producing tiny plantlets.
Stems

erect, unbranched;

scales black with lighter margins, linear-lanceolate, 3–6 × 0.4–0.8 mm, margins entire.

erect, rarely long-creeping;

scales basally attached, clathrate.
Leaves

monomorphic.

Petiole(s)

reddish brown throughout, lustrous, 1–12(–20) cm, 1/3–1/10 length of blade;

indument of black filiform scales.

not articulate.
Blade(s)

linear, 1-pinnate throughout, 5–25(–40) × 1–2.5(–3) cm, thick, glabrous;

base gradually tapered;

apex acute, not rooting.

1–4-pinnate, of diverse size and shape.
Pinnae

in 10–40 pairs, oblong to quadrangular, somewhat asymmetric;

medial pinnae 4–15 × 2–5 mm;

base rounded to cuneate;

margins crenulate or ± entire;

apex obtuse.

Veins

free, obscure.

Indusia

present.
Sori

1(–3) per pinna, only on basiscopic side.

Spores

32 per sporangium.

Rachis

reddish brown throughout, lustrous, glabrous.

n

= 2n = 108 (apogamous).

x

= 36.

Asplenium monanthes

Asplenium
Habitat Rock
Elevation 50–1000 m (200–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AZ; NC; SC; HI; Mexico; Central America; West Indies in Hispaniola; Jamaica; South America to n Argentina; Africa including Madagascar; Madeira; Réunion; Tristan da Cunha
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Worldwide
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 700 (28 species, 3 nothospecies in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Blades simple, pinnatifid, or forked (sometimes with free pinnae at base), not pinnate throughout.
→ 2
1. Blades pinnate throughout or pinnatifid only in distal 1/3, pinnae undivided to 1–3-divided.
→ 8
2. Blades less than 2–3 mm wide, linear, frequently forking or with 1–3 small, narrow projections.
A. septentrionale
2. Blades more than 10 mm wide, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, if lobed, segments resembling adnate pinnae.
→ 3
3. Veins anastomosing to form areoles; blades rooting at tip.
A. rhizophyllum
3. Veins free; blades with apical buds or not but not rooting at tip.
→ 4
4. Blades simple, linear to oblanceolate.
→ 5
4. Blades pinnatifid, elliptic, lanceolate, to deltate.
→ 6
5. Blades cordate at base; roots not proliferous.
scolopendrium var. americanum
5. Blades tapered at base; roots proliferous.
A. serratum
6. Petioles 1 cm or less, dull; stem scales 0.6–1 mm wide, sparsely denticulate.
A. dalhousiae
6. Petioles 1–10 cm, lustrous; stem scales less than 0.5 mm wide, entire.
→ 7
7. Petioles dark-pigmented only at base; blade narrowly deltate.
A. pinnatifidum
7. Petioles and proximal midrib darkly pigmented abaxially; blade oblong- lanceolate.
A. ebenoides
8. Blades 2–4-pinnate, with only largest pinnae divided to all pinnae divided.
→ 9
8. Blades 1-pinnate, pinnae undivided (except in some individuals of A. pumilum).
→ 18
9. Blades deltate-ovate, with 2–5 pairs of pinnae; pinnae generally deltate-ovate to obdeltate, rarely lanceolate to narrowly elliptic; color in living plants dull bluish green.
A. ruta-muraria
9. Blades ovate-lanceolate to linear, with 5–20 pairs of pinnae; pinnae linear to oblong; color in living plants shiny green.
→ 10
10. Delicate root proliferations usually present (commonly buried in mossy soil in crevices, but enabling clone formation); damp, shaded limestone; Florida.
→ 11
10. Delicate root proliferations absent or rare; mainly rock crevices; plants not in Florida.
→ 15
11. Spores uniform and normal.
→ 12
11. Spores of different sizes and shapes, malformed (irregular in size and shape).
→ 13
12. Blades oblong-lanceolate, mostly 2- pinnate; pinnae lanceolate to oblong- lanceolate.
A. cristatum
12. Blades narrowly lanceolate, 2–3- pinnate; pinnae ovate to ovate- deltate.
A. verecundum
13. Blades linear-lanceolate, s Florida.
A. ×biscayneanum
13. Blades oblong-lanceolate, c Florida.
→ 14
14. Medial pinnae pinnate throughout; pinnules mostly deeply notched apically.
A. ×curtissii
14. Medial pinnae pinnate only in proximal 1/2; pinnules mostly shallowly notched apically.
A. plenum
15. Buds at blade, pinna, and pinnule apices minute, scaly, dormant; Arizona.
A. exiguum
15. Buds absent; foothills and mountains in e United States and s Rocky Mountains.
→ 16
16. Petioles all pale green except at base.
A. montanum
16. Petioles dark reddish brown.
→ 17
17. Blades lanceolate to linear- lanceolate, 1–2-pinnate; proximal pinnae often somewhat reduced; e United States foothills and mountains.
A. bradleyi
17. Blades deltate-ovate to deltate- lanceolate, 2–3-pinnate; proximal pinnae usually largest; s Rocky Mountains.
A. adiantum-nigrum
18. Pinna pairs 1–2(–4); blades ovate-deltate, with fine nonglandular hairs on veins.
A. pumilum
18. Pinna pairs 5–35; blades mainly oblong to lanceolate, usually with glandular hairs or narrow hairlike scales on veins or blades glabrous.
→ 19
19. Pinnae with conspicuous basal auricles overlapping rachis; sori inframedial; leaves ± dimorphic, upright and tall, or spreading and short; plants often terrestrial.
A. platyneuron
19. Pinnae bases not overlapping rachis; sori medial to supramedial; leaves monomorphic; plants mainly on rock (epiphytic in A. auritum).
→ 20
20. Blades mostly 4–9 cm wide, linear- lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate.
→ 21
20. Blades mostly less than 3 cm wide, mainly linear.
→ 22
21. Blades linear-lanceolate, to 35 cm; pinna pairs 10–22, base with conspicuous acroscopic auricle; epiphytic on tree trunks.
A. auritum
21. Blades oblong to oblong-lanceolate, to 20 cm; pinna pairs 4–8, base with or without small acroscopic auricle; on mossy limestone.
A. abscissum
22. Sori 1(–3), mainly confined to basiscopic side of strongly asymmetric pinnae.
A. monanthes
22. Sori 4–10, on both sides of costa of nearly symmetric pinnae.
→ 23
23. Blade apex prolonged into whiplike extension of rachis terminating in bud.
A. palmeri
23. Blade apex not prolonged, terminal bud absent.
→ 24
24. Pinnae ovate, oblong-ovate, to rhombic, mainly 4–7 mm, length 1–2 times width.
→ 25
24. Pinnae oblong-lanceolate to oblong, mainly 6–10 mm, length 3–5 times width.
→ 28
25. Rachises dark reddish brown throughout.
A. trichomanes
25. Rachises dark in proximal 1/3–2/3 or only at base.
→ 26
26. Rachises dark in proximal 1/3–2/3; pinna margins entire to shallowly crenate.
A. adulterinum
26. Rachises dark only at base; pinna margins dentate-crenate.
→ 27
27. Pinnae with basiscopic 1/2 much reduced; blades mainly less than 1 cm wide; n North America.
A. trichomanes-ramosum
27. Pinnae nearly symmetric; blades mainly more than 1 cm wide; s Florida.
A. trichomanes-dentatum
28. Pinna margins deeply lobed, especially acroscopic and distal margins, cut 1/3 or more distance from margin to costa; s California.
A. vespertinum
28. Pinna margins nearly entire or shallowly crenate- dentate; se United States to e Arizona.
→ 29
29. Pinna margins nearly entire; sori supramedial; spores 32; widespread in s United States.
A. resiliens
29. Pinna margins ± shallowly crenate- dentate; sori medial to inframedial; spores 32 or 64; local in se United States.
→ 30
30. Pinna margins shallowly crenulate; auricle present at pinna base; veins obscure; spores 32 per sporangium.
A. ×heteroresiliens
30. Pinna margins serrate to crenate; auricle rudimentary or absent at pinna base; veins evident; spores 64 per sporangium.
A. heterochroum
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2. Authors: Warren H. Wagner Jr., Robbin C. Moran, Charles R. Werth.
Parent taxa Aspleniaceae > Asplenium Aspleniaceae
Sibling taxa
A. abscissum, A. adiantum-nigrum, A. adulterinum, A. auritum, A. bradleyi, A. cristatum, A. dalhousiae, A. ebenoides, A. exiguum, A. heterochroum, A. montanum, A. palmeri, A. pinnatifidum, A. platyneuron, A. plenum, A. pumilum, A. resiliens, A. rhizophyllum, A. ruta-muraria, A. scolopendrium, A. septentrionale, A. serratum, A. trichomanes, A. trichomanes-dentatum, A. trichomanes-ramosum, A. verecundum, A. vespertinum, A. ×biscayneanum, A. ×curtissii, A. ×heteroresiliens
Subordinate taxa
A. abscissum, A. adiantum-nigrum, A. adulterinum, A. auritum, A. bradleyi, A. cristatum, A. dalhousiae, A. ebenoides, A. exiguum, A. heterochroum, A. monanthes, A. montanum, A. palmeri, A. pinnatifidum, A. platyneuron, A. plenum, A. pumilum, A. resiliens, A. rhizophyllum, A. ruta-muraria, A. scolopendrium var. americanum, A. septentrionale, A. serratum, A. trichomanes, A. trichomanes-dentatum, A. trichomanes-ramosum, A. verecundum, A. vespertinum, A. ×biscayneanum, A. ×curtissii, A. ×heteroresiliens
Name authority Linnaeus: Mant. Pl. 1: 130. (1767) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1078. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 485, (1754)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers