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Asplenium septentrionale
Also called Grassfern, Northern Spleenwort
Forked spleenwort is a small rock-dwelling fern that forms dense tufts resembling grass, native across Europe, Asia and western North America. It is rarely grown as a houseplant; it does best with sharp drainage and minimal watering, and it is sensitive to root disturbance.
Asplenium septentrionale is a species of fern known by the common names northern spleenwort and forked spleenwort. It is native to Europe, Asia and western North America, where it grows on rocks. Its long, slender leaves give it a distinctive appearance. Three subspecies exist, corresponding to a tetraploid and a diploid cytotype and their triploid hybrid.
Asplenium septentrionale is hardy to USDA Zone 4. It is best grown in partial sun or medium light in moist to dry potting mix. It requires good drainage and little watering. Sensitive to root disturbance, it is difficult to transplant and establish, and is rarely sold by nurseries.
Asplenium septentrionale subsp. septentrionale is found in Europe and Asia from the Macaronesian Islands east through Europe, western Asia, the former USSR, northern India, parts of western and central China (Xinjiang, Tibet, and Shaanxi), and Taiwan. It is also found in North America, principally in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, but also in the Black Hills of South Dakota–Wyoming. It also occurs in the mountains of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada, from Oregon south through California into Baja California. Populations occur to the eastward in western Texas and near the tip of the Oklahoma Panhandle, and two very disjunct stations have been located on shale in Monroe County and Hardy County, West Virginia.
Black spleenwort · Asplenium aequibasis · Egyptian spleenwort · Asplenium anceps · Bird’s Nest Fern · Asplenium appendiculatum · Asplenium arcanum · Fern · Asplenium attenuatum · Eared Spleenwort · Bird's Nest Fern · Azorean Spleenwort
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Asplenium septentrionale by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
