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Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum (American hart's-tongue fern)
Cressler, Alan

Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum

Asplenium scolopendrium L. var. americanum (Fernald) Kartesz & Gandhi

American Hart's-tongue Fern

Aspleniaceae (Spleenwort Family)

Synonym(s): Phyllitis japonica ssp. americana, Phyllitis scolopendrium var. americana

USDA Symbol: ASSCA

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

In North America at the present time, Asplenium scolopendrium is an endangered species everywhere outside of Ontario, where it is found along the Niagara Escarpment growing in crevasses and north facing slopes (Ferns of Grey and Bruce Counties). Variety americanum occurs in scattered populations in deep shade and rocky, calcareous soil in Ontario, Michigan, New York, Tennessee, Alabama, and Nuevo Leon. The species proper ranges across western Eurasia, where it is common, and adds Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Hispaniola to the aforementioned locales. Listed as a species of special concern by Canada's Species at Risk Act and as threatened by the United States government and by the state of New York. Tennessee and Michigan classify it as endangered.

 

From the Image Gallery

19 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb , Fern
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Linear
Leaf Margin: Entire
Leaf Apex: Acuminate
Leaf Base: Cordate
Leaf Texture: Papery

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Not Applicable
Bloom Notes: Not a flowering plant. Reproduces by spores.

Distribution

USA: AL , MD , MI , NY , TN
Canada: ON
Native Distribution: Scattered spottily from southern Ontario to New York, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and Nuevo Leon.
Native Habitat: Forest,Riparian,Rocky Bluff, in deep shade and calcareous soil.

Growing Conditions

Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
Soil pH: Alkaline (pH>7.2)
CaCO3 Tolerance: High

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Threatened & Endangered Status

USFWS Species Profile: S00O
Status: Threatened
Historic Range: U.S.A. (AL, MI, NY, TN), Canada (Ont.)
Critical Habitat: N/A
Special Rules: N/A
This information is derived from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serrvice Environmental Conservation Online System.

Bibliography

Bibref 1231 - Guide To the Ferns of Grey and Bruce Counties, Ontario (1999) Owen Sound Field Naturalists

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 3 - Flora of North America (2014) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 12 - Great Lakes Ecological Assessment: Threatened, Endangered, or Sensitive Species (2012) USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Additional resources

USDA: Find Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum

Metadata

Record Modified: 2015-08-12
Research By: TWC Staff

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