Flora of North America species comparison

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Asplenium pinnatifidum

lobed spleenwort
Roots

not proliferous.
Stems

short-creeping to erect, frequently branched;

scales dark reddish brown, narrowly deltate, 3–5 × 0.3–0.5 mm, margins entire.
Leaves

monomorphic.
Petiole

dark reddish brown at base, fading to green in distal 1/3–1/2, lustrous, 1–10 cm, 1/5–1 times length of blade;

indument of dark reddish brown, narrowly deltate scales at very base, grading distally into hairs.
Blade

narrowly deltate, often irregular in outline, pinnatifid or often with single pair of pinnae proximally, 2–17(–20) × 1–4(–13) cm, thick, pubescent abaxially only;

base truncate, cordate, or auriculate;

apex acute to long-attenuate, proliferous bud very rare, not known to root in nature.
Pinnae

0–1 pair, ovate to deltate, sometimes narrowly so, 5–20(–90) × 0.4–1(–1.2) mm;

base truncate to acute;

margins crenate to serrate;

apex rounded to attenuate.
Veins

free (rarely anastomosing), obscure.
Sori

1–6(–40+) per segment, usually confluent with age.
Spores

64 per sporangium.
Rachis

green, sometimes drying to tan, dull;

hairs on abaxial surface only, scattered, minute.
2n

= 144.

Asplenium pinnatifidum
Habitat Cliffs, ledges, and boulders of sandstone and other acidic rocks
Elevation 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; GA; IL; IN; KY; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; VA; WI; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Asplenium pinnatifidum is an allotetraploid derived from the hybrid A. montanum × rhizophyllum. Although isozyme studies indicate that this species originated at more than one site (C. R. Werth et al. 1985b), the sterile diploid hybrid is unknown. The species is uncommon in the eastern part of the Appalachian region and becomes much more frequent in the Cumberland and Interior Low plateaus, extending westward into the Ozarks and Ouachitas. It is disjunct in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin in Iowa County (M. G. and R. P. Hanson 1979). It crosses frequently with A. montanum (producing A. × trudellii Wherry), with A. bradleyi (producing A. × gravesii Maxon), with A. platyneuron (producing A. × kentuckiense McCoy), and with A. trichomanes (producing A. × herb-wagneri W. C. Taylor & Mohlenbrock).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Aspleniaceae > Asplenium
Sibling 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. 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
Synonyms Asplenosorus pinnatifidus
Name authority Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 251. (1818)
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).



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