Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Polypodiales > Aspleniaceae > Asplenium > Asplenium ceterach

Asplenium ceterach (Scale Fern; Rustyback)

Synonyms: Ceterach officinarum var. crenatum; Ceterach officinarum var. platylobum (homotypic); Ceterach officinarum var. stenolobum (homotypic)

Wikipedia Abstract

Asplenium ceterach (syn. Ceterach officinarum) is a fern species commonly known as Rustyback. It is characterised by a short rhizome which gives rise to several green fronds that have a pinnated lamina with trichomes on the abaxial (lower) surface, but not the adaxial (upper) one. These trichomes (hairs) are orange-brown in colour, hence the name "rustyback". The petiole is shorter than the corpus of the leaf. This fern species has been used medicinally as a diuretic.
View Wikipedia Record: Asplenium ceterach

Infraspecies

Asplenium ceterach bivalens
Asplenium ceterach ceterach
Asplenium ceterach mantoniae
Asplenium ceterach mediterraneum
Asplenium ceterach troodeum

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-Low
Hazards [2]  Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable; Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase;
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Structure [2]  Fern
Height [2]  6 inches (0.15 m)
Light Preference [3]  Mostly Sunny
Soil Acidity [3]  Neutral
Soil Fertility [3]  Infertile
Soil Moisture [3]  Mostly Dry
View Plants For A Future Record : Asplenium ceterach

Protected Areas

Predators

Eriococcus saxidesertus[4]
Psychoides verhuella[5]

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3ECOFACT 2a Technical Annex - Ellenberg’s indicator values for British Plants, M O Hill, J O Mountford, D B Roy & R G H Bunce (1999)
♦ 4Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 5Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0