Asplenium australasicum

Asplenium australasicum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Pteridopsida
Order: Polypodiales
(unranked): Eupolypods II
Family: Aspleniaceae
Genus: Asplenium
Species: A. australasicum
Binomial name
Asplenium australasicum
(J.Sm.) Hook.

Asplenium australasicum is a species of epiphytic fern in the Aspleniaceae family found in eastern Australia. Common names include bird's nest fern and crow's nest fern.[1]

Taxonomy

Asplenium australasicum was originally described by English botanist John Smith in 1857 as Neottopteris australasica.[2] He had reclassified the already known A. nidus in its own genus Neottopteris. Other botanists reclassified the genus as a section, Thamnopteris, within the genus Asplenium,[3] and William Jackson Hooker gave it its current binomial name in 1859.[4] Although the section Thamnopteris is distinctive, defining the species has been difficult as the morphology of the plants is so simple.[3] A. australasicum has been confused with (and called) A. nidus,[5] and Japanese populations which were considered to be A. australasicum by their morphology have been found to be genetically distinct and reclassified as a new species, A. setori.[3]

A 2015 molecular study found that Asplenium australasicum is polyphyletic, meaning that some populations were not closely related to others—A. australasicum from Fiji and Vanauatu were not closely related to A. australasicum from Australia and New Caledonia. Hence a revision with sampling of the species across its range was required to delineate the taxon and identify cryptic species.[6]

Description

Asplenium australasicum grows as shrubby plant, with a rosette of yellow-green fronds which are 60 to 80 cm (24–32 in) long and 3 to 21 cm (1.2–8.4 in) wide.[7] It can be distinguished from A. nidus by its prominent midrib under its fronds, giving the fronds a keeled appearance.[3] The spores form in parallel lines which run in parallel with the veins and oblique to the midrib.[5]

Distribution and habitat

A. australasicum grows on rocks or as an epiphyte on trees and is native to eastern New South Wales and Queensland.[7] The clumps can reach a large size, with the centre of the fern acting as a reservoir for debris.[5]

Cultivation

Asplenium australasicum specimens were taken from logged areas, which helped them become popular in horticulture.[5] It adapts readily to cultivation, as long as it has good drainage. Poor drainage renders it vulnerable to rotting.[8] It can be grown in a tub or barrel.[1] In cultivation it is occasionally attacked by white coconut scale on the underside of the fronds.[1]

Uses

Apart from its use as an ornamental plant, bird's nest fern is also a popular vegetable in Taiwan, particularly in the Eastern part of the island where the young emerging fronds are used as a leafy vegetable, from both wild and cultivated plants. The fronds are now also gaining in popularity elsewhere because of the pleasant texture and taste.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elliot, Rodger (2003). Australian Plants for Mediterranean Climate Gardens. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 1-877058-18-1.
  2. ↑ "Neottopteris australasica J.Sm.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Noriaki Murakami, Mikio Watanabe, Jun Yokoyama, Yoko Yatabe, Hisako Iwasaki and Shunsuke Serizawa (1999). "Molecular Taxonomic Study and Revision of the Three Japanese Species of Asplenium sect. Thamnopteris". Journal of Plant Research 112 (1): 15–25. doi:10.1007/PL00013856.
  4. ↑ "Asplenium australasicum (J.Sm.) Hook.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District:An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-7318-1031-7.
  6. ↑ Ohlsen DJ, Perrie LR, Shepherd LD, Brownsey PJ, Bayly MJ (2015). "Phylogeny of the fern family Aspleniaceae in Australasia and the south-western Pacific". Australian Systematic Botany 27 (6): 355–71. doi:10.1071/SB14043#sthash.G4tUiO5M.dpuf.
  7. 1 2 New South Wales Flora Online: Asplenium australasicum by Peter G. Wilson, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  8. ↑ Walters, Brian (November 2007). "Asplenium australasicum". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  9. ↑ Anonymous. "Bird's nest fern (Vegetable uses)" (PDF). AVRDC, The World Vegetable Center. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
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