E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

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

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Asplenium trichomanes
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Asplenium trichomanes ssp. quadrivalens
Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / 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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Asplenium trichomanes

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	20	267	820
Slope Gradient (%)	10	67	130
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	20	93	305
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	3	6
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	E
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	38
Modal BEC Zone Class	CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CWH(32), ICH(4), IDF(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Ecological Indicator Information

A shade-tolerant/intolerant, montane to subalpine, circumpolar fern (transcontinental in North America). Occurs on water-shedding and water-receiving sites within subalpine boreal, cool temperate, and cool mesothermal climates. Sporadic in shrub or forest communities on steep colluvial slopes where it inhabits shaded, humid microsites on rocks, boulders, and stones that have very shallow, friable soils high in organic matter. Characteristic of colluvial sites.

Source: Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia (Information applies to coastal locations only)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Asplenium trichomanes ssp. quadrivalens	Native	S4S5	Yellow	Not Listed
Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Asplenium melanocaulon

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Aspleniaceae
Flora North America treatment for Asplenium trichomanes
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-12 11:52:24 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.