Asplenium trichomanes L. subsp. trichomanes
maidenhair spleenwort
Aspleniaceae (Spleenwort family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Curtis Bjork     (Photo ID #15911)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Evergreen with clustered fronds.
Leaves:
Narrowly lanceolate, 10-25 cm long, 0.7-1.5 cm wide; rachis winged with two wax-papery lines, reddish-brown throughout (except the green tip on youngest leaves); pinnae in pairs, egg-shaped to oblong egg-shaped, 5-15 mm long, 3-8 mm wide.
Notes:
A variable species. Two chromosome races (diploid ssp. trichomanes and tetraploid ssp. quadrivalens D.E. Meyer) were reported from North America (Moran 1982, Wagner et al. 1993), but their distribution in British Columbia is poorly known and requires further study.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat and Range

Dry to mesic rocks in lowland and montane zones; frequent in coastal BC, infrequent east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains in S BC south of 51degreeN; circumpolar, N to S AK, E to AB and disjunct in ON to NF and S to GA, LA, TX, NM, AZ and CA; Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia