Asplenium ceterach L. (= Ceterach officinarum Willd.) Scale fern

Asplenium ceterach L. (= Ceterach officinarum Willd.) - Scale fern

Scientific Description:

Rhizome short, erect. Fronds tufted, persistent, 8−20 cm, pinnatifid; petiole less than 1/4 the length of laminae; pinnae oblong, broader at base, apex rounded, entire or crenate. Sori linear, indusium absent.

 

Spores ripe: April.

Habitat: Dry walls, limestone & metamorphic rocks, 10−1300 m.

 

Reference:

Davis PH (1965). Ceterach officinarum Willd., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 52.

Public Description:

Asplenium ceterach, commonly known as “scale fern” or “rustyback”, is native to central and southern Europe, east to the Himalayas and Caucasus. Like other ferns, this species does not contain flower, fruit or seed. Although it has a vascular systems as seen in flowering plants, it produces spores instead of seeds to reproduce. It is an evergreen, small and common fern and characterised by a short underground rhizome. The scale fern grows on dry walls, limestone and metamorphic rocks.

 

References:

Anonymous 1 (2017). http://www.shadyplants.net/photo_14996834.html, Accessed date: 08.08.2017.

Anonymous 2 (2017). http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/listSpecies.cfm?Auto=149, Accessed date: 08.08.2017.

Güner A (2012). Asplenium L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 3-4.