Green Spleenwort

Common Name: Green Spleenwort

Latin Name: Asplenium viride

Family: Aspleniaceae (Spleenwort family)

The green spleenwort is a very small fern which was formerly used to treat diseases of the spleen. In the British Isles it grows amongst rocks in the high rainfall areas of western and northern areas. Unlike its close relative, the maidenhair spleenwort, the green spleenwort has a green rachis (the axis of the leaf). In the Yorkshire Dales National Park green spleenwort is quite common but restricted to limestone pavements and crevices in cliffs in the South West of the National Park.