Flora of North America species comparison

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Asplenium rhizophyllum

doradille ambulante, walking fern, walking spleenwort
Roots

not proliferous.
Stems

erect or ascending, usually unbranched;

scales dark brown throughout, narrowly deltate, 2–3 × (0.2–)0.5–1 mm, margins entire.
Leaves

monomorphic but fertile leaves generally larger than sterile leaves.
Petiole

reddish brown at base, becoming green distally, dull but sometimes lustrous at base, 0.5–12 cm, 0.1–1.5 times length of blade;

indument of dark brown, narrowly deltate scales at base, of minute, club-shaped hairs distally.
Blades

highly variable in size and shape, even on 1 plant, narrowly deltate to linear-lanceolate, simple, 1–30 × 0.5–5 cm, leathery, sparsely pubescent, hairs more numerous abaxially than adaxially;

blade base cordate, auriculate, or occasionally hastate, auricles rarely attenuate and radicant;

margins entire to sinuate, rarely irregularly incised;

apex rounded to very long-attenuate and, if attenuate, generally rooting at tip.
Veins

obscure, anastomosing to form areoles near midrib.
Sori

numerous, scattered somewhat irregularly over blade, often joined at vein junctures.
Spores

64 per sporangium.
Rachis

green, dull, nearly glabrous.
2n

= 72.

Asplenium rhizophyllum
Habitat Shaded, usually moss-covered boulders and ledges, usually on limestone or other basic rocks, but occasionally on sandstone or other acidic rocks, rarely on fallen tree trunks
Elevation 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Asplenium rhizophyllum, a diploid species, is morphologically very distinctive within Asplenium and is segregated by many authors, along with its sister species A. ruprechtii Kurata of eastern Asia, into the genus Camptosorus Link. Proliferations arising from leaf tips result in the formation of clonal patches, often dense and extensive, on the mossy boulders and ledges where it typically grows. Naturally occurring sterile hybrids are known with A. platyneuron (these and their fertile allotetraploid derivatives are both referred to A. ebenoides), A. ruta-muraria (A. × inexpectatum E. L. Braun ex C. V. Morton), A. trichomanes subsp. trichomanes [A. × shawneense (R. C. Moran) H. E. Ballard], and A. ebenoides. In addition, the allotetraploid A. pinnatifidum is derived from the hybrid A. montanum × rhizophyllum; the sterile diploid hybrid is unknown.

(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. pinnatifidum, A. platyneuron, A. plenum, A. pumilum, A. resiliens, 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 Camptosorus rhizophyllus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1078. (1753)
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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