Walking fern
Asplenium rhizophyllum L.
Images
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Morphology
- Culm
- Erect or ascending, usually unbranched; from short, scaly rhizomes.
- Leaves
- Evergreen, arching or nearly prostrate, simple; petiole brown at base, green above, .2 to 5 inches, flattened; blade narrowly triangular, 1.5 to 12 inches long, .5 to 2 inches wide, base cordate with rounded auricles, margins entire to wavy, tip often long-tapered, surfaces glabrous. Sori numerous, elongated, oblong or linear, irregularly scattered on underside of blade.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Rocky wooded hillsides or ledges, shaded moss-covered boulders; usually on limestone, sometimes on sandstone.
- Distribution
- East 1/3 of Kansas, more common in southeast
- Reproduction
- In addition to spores, forms colonies due to the rooting leaf tips.
Additional Notes
Comments
"Walking fern" refers to the leaf tips rooting and forming additional plants vegetatively. Often observed near ebony spleenwort.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Sedge
- Family
- Aspleniaceae - Spleenwort Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 1-6 inches
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2014-02-04
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: May, June, July, August, September