Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This fern grows in rocky North American woodlands and features a dark, glossy stem. It produces two distinct leaf types, with upright fertile fronds that wither while flat sterile ones stay green.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Polypodiopsida

Order

Polypodiales

Family

Aspleniaceae

Genus

Asplenium

Species

Asplenium platyneuron