Maidenhair Spleenwort

Common Name: Maidenhair spleenwort

Latin Name: Asplenium trichomanes

Family: Aspleniaceae (Spleenwort family)

This delicate fern can be found at all altitudes on both natural and manmade rock and stone surfaces in the British Isles. The species forms dense tufts of both live 1-pinnate fronds and dead stalks.

In the Yorkshire Dales National Park maidenhair spleenwort is a commonly found in many limestone habitats, such as limestone pavements, rocky outcrops, scars, cliff faces and even on buildings constructed from limestone. Of the three maidenhair spleenwort sub-species found in the British Isles, it is Asplenium trichomanes ssp. quadrivalens which is commonly found in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on calcareous rock surfaces. There are also some tentative records of A. trichomanes ssp. trichomanes on non-calcareous rocks.