''Asplenium ruprechtii'', which goes by the common name Asian walking fern, is a rare, hardy, low-lying
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 ...
native to East Asia. It is a close relative of ''
Asplenium rhizophyllum
''Asplenium rhizophyllum'', the (American) walking fern, is a frequently-occurring fern native to North America. It is a close relative of ''Asplenium ruprechtii'' (syn: ''Camptosorus sibiricus'') which is found in East Asia and also goes by the ...
''
(syn: ''Camptosorus rhizophyllus''
) which is found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and also goes by the common name of walking fern.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
/ref> The species should not be confused with ''Asplenium sibiricum'' which is a synonym of '' Diplazium sibiricum''.
Description
The name ''walking fern'' was derived from the way the fern spreads. The underside of each leaf contain sori, and when the tip of the leaf touches the ground, new plantlets sprout, creating a "walking" effect.
The evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...
, undivided, slightly leathery leaves are triangular and taper to a thin point. Sori, the spore-bearing structures, are distributed in clusters along the veins on the underside of the leaves. The plant can be found in the shady areas of limestone ledges and in limy forest places. ''Asplenium ruprechtii'' is smaller than its relative, ''Asplenium rhizophyllum'', and usually has cuneate bases to its fronds, whereas ''A. rhizophyllum'' usually has cordate frond bases.
Taxonomy
A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. ruprechtii'' belongs to the "''A. cordatum'' subclade" of the "''Schaffneria'' clade". The ''Schaffneria'' clade has a worldwide distribution, and members vary widely in form and habitat. There is no clear morphological feature that unites the ''A. cordatum'' subclade; the sister species of ''A. ruprechtii'' is ''A. rhizophyllum'', which shares an undivided leaf blade and a proliferating tip, while the other three species are scaly spleenworts of dry habitats in Africa and the Middle East.
Hybrids
''A. ruprechtii'' hybridizes with several other spleenworts in east Asia. With the diploid '' A. incisum'', it forms '' A. castaneoviride'', which encompasses both the diploid F1 hybrid and a fertile allotetraploid derived from it. The hybrid ''A.'' × ''bimixtum'' contains a genomic contribution from '' A. quadrivalens'' as well as ''A. ruprechtii'' and ''A. incisum'', and occurs as a tetraploid. ''A. ruprechtii'' hybridizes with the diploid '' A. sarelii'' to form ''A.'' × ''kitazawae'', which comprises a diploid F1 hybrid and its fertile allotetraploid derivative, and with '' A. pekinense'', an autotetraploid formed from ''A. sarelii'', to form the triploid ''A.'' × ''uiryeongse''. In Japan it hybridizes with '' A. coenobiale'' to form ''A.'' × ''tosaense'', and with '' A. tenuicaule to form ''A.'' × ''akaishiense''.
References
*
*
Sources
Hardy Fern LibraryPlant Delights Nursery
ruprechtii
Ferns of Asia
{{Polypodiales-stub