Asplenium septentrionale

Northern spleenwort, northern spleenwort, northern spleenwort

Family: Aspleniaceae · Type: Fern · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Northern spleenwort is a native fern found in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains and California-Cascade Range in granite rock crevices at elevations of 2,500 to 3,350 meters. This distinctive fern produces narrow, grass-like leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long with red-brown bases and green upper portions. Growing in dense clusters, its leaves are remarkably slender, typically 1 to 2 millimeters wide and often with small sterile teeth near the tips. Its fronds emerge from short reddish-brown stems 2.5 to 12 centimeters long, creating a delicate, tufted appearance in rocky mountain habitats. The fern develops linear sori (spore-producing structures) 5 to 15 millimeters long, typically positioned along its narrow leaf segments.

Habitat: Crevices of granite rocks

Elevation: 2500-3350 m

Bioregions: CaRH, s SNH

California counties: Tulare, Shasta, Tehama

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.