''Asplenium flaccidum'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Aspleniaceae The Aspleniaceae (spleenworts) are a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales. The composition and classification of the family have been subject to considerable changes. In particular, there is a narrow circumscription, Aspleniaceae ...

. The plant common name is drooping spleenwort or weeping spleenwort, and the species name ''flaccidum'' derives from the Latin root meaning ''drooping''. The plant is also known in its native New Zealand by the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

name ''makawe''. An example occurrence of ''A. flaccidum'' is within a ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

''- Podocarp forest at Hamilton Ecological District on New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

in association with other fern species understory plants, Crown fern (''Blechnum discolor'') being an example.C. Michael Hogan. 2009

Taxonomy

A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

into eleven

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s (groups), which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. flaccidum'' belongs to the "''Neottopteris'' clade", members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue. It forms a clade with '' A. appendiculatum'' and '' A. chathamense''.

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* Sue Olsen. 2007. ''Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns'', Timber Press, , , 444 pages *

Line notes

flaccidum Ferns of New Zealand Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) {{Polypodiales-stub