''Asplenium viride'' 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), ...

of fern known as the green spleenwort because of its green

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Carthaginians, ...

and rachides. This feature easily distinguishes it from the very similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort, ''

Asplenium trichomanes ''Asplenium trichomanes'', the maidenhair spleenwort (not to be confused with the similar-looking Adiantum, maidenhair fern), is a small fern in the spleenwort genus ''Asplenium''. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide ...

''.

Taxonomy

Green spleenwort was described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his 1753 ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

'', under the name "''Asplenium Trich. ramosum''", with a type locality of "'" (rocks in

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

). Under the rules of the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN or ICNafp) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all tho ...

, phrase names such as "''Asplenium Trichomanes ramosum''" are to be treated as orthographic errors – in this case, for "''Asplenium ramosum''". That name was later rejected in favour of William Hudson's later name ''Asplenium viride'', which had a type locality of "'" (damp rocks in the mountains of Wales,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

). A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. viride'' belongs to the "''A. viride'' subclade" of the "''A. trichomanes'' clade". The ''A. trichomanes'' clade has a worldwide distribution. Members of the clade grow on rocks and usually have once-pinnate leaf blades with slender, chestnut- to dark-brown stalks. The ''A. viride'' subclade, which contains only ''A. viride'' and its

allopolyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

descendant '' A. adulterinum'', is exceptional in having green stalks.

Ecology

''A. viride'' is a native species of northern and western

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 northern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. It is a small rock fern, growing on

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

rock. It is a diploid species, with ''n'' = 36, and hybridizes with ''

'' to produce ''Asplenium × adulterinum'', found on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

References

External links

* *
Flora of North America: ''Asplenium viride''
Wild Flowers of the British Isles

, Skye Flora
''Asplenium viride''
Flora of Northern Ireland {{Taxonbar, from=Q1552374 viride Ferns of the United States Flora of Canada Flora of the Eastern United States Plants described in 1762 Taxa named by William Hudson (botanist)