Asplenium septentrionale(L.) Hoffm.

forked spleenwortgrassfern

WFO wfo-0001109358 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Asplenium septentrionale, photographed by David Sandler
fig. a David Sandler, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-12 / obs. 205713160

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 73 botanical countries

Regions where Asplenium septentrionale is native: Canary Is., Madeira, Morocco, Afghanistan, Altay, China North-Central, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, East Himalaya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Krym, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Mexico Northwest, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming MoroccoAfghanistanAltayChina North-CentralIranJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMongoliaNorth CaucasusTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTuvaWest SiberiaXinjiangEast HimalayaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyKrymNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineArizonaCaliforniaColoradoIdahoMexico NorthwestNew MexicoOklahomaOregonSouth DakotaTexasUtahWest VirginiaWyoming Canary Is.MadeiraSardegna
Native distribution of Asplenium septentrionale, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
China North-Central CHN
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
California CAL
Colorado COL
Idaho IDA
Mexico Northwest MXN
New Mexico NWM
Oklahoma OKL
Oregon ORE
South Dakota SDA
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
West Virginia WVA
Wyoming WYO
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Canary Is. CNY AFRICA
Madeira MDR
Morocco MOR

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 2,028 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -13.9 °C -5.2 °C -0.2 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 16.5 °C 22.1 °C 27.0 °C
Annual rainfall 487 mm 881 mm 2,049 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 51 mm 152 mm 380 mm

It is found where winters bring hard frost. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 2,028 research-grade observations of Asplenium septentrionale that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 21 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Acropteris septentrionalis (L.) Link
  • Acrostichum laciniatum Gilib.
  • Acrostichum septentrionale L.
  • Amesium sasakii Hayata
  • Amesium septentrionale (L.) Newman
  • Asplenium bifurcatum Opiz
  • Asplenium bifurctum Opiz
  • Asplenium bifurcum Opiz
  • Asplenium caucasicum (Fraser-Jenk. & Lovis) Viane
  • Asplenium dirense Viane & Reichst.
  • Asplenium sasakii (Hayata) Makino & Nemoto
  • Asplenium septentrionale var. depauperatum Christ
  • Asplenium septentrionale var. sasakii (Hayata) C.Chr.
  • Belvisia septentrionalis (L.) Mirb.
  • Blechnum septentrionale (L.) Wallr.
  • Chamaefilix septentrionalis (L.) Farw.
  • Scolopendrium septentrionale Roth
  • Stormesia bifurca (Opiz) J.Kickx f.
  • Stormesia bifurcata (Opiz) Kickx f.
  • Tarachia septentrionalis (L.) Momose
  • Trichomanes petraeum Bubani

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.