Spleen fern

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Spleen fern
Spleen fern (Asplenium ceterach)

Spleen fern ( Asplenium ceterach )

Systematics
Ferns
Class : True ferns (Polypodiopsida)
Order : Spotted ferns (Polypodiales)
Family : Striped fern family (Aspleniaceae)
Genre : Striped Ferns ( Asplenium )
Type : Spleen fern
Scientific name
Asplenium ceterach
L.
Frond top
Frond underside
Splenic fern ( Asplenium ceterach ) in the Spessart

The spleen fern ( Asplenium ceterach , syn. Ceterach officinarum ) is also called the writing fern or apothecary fern and is a species of the striped fern family (Aspleniaceae) that can be found in Central Europe. In Germany it is under nature protection. It belongs to the poikilohydric plants (alternating damp plants, so-called "resurrection plants"). After a long period of drought, the plants look rolled up and dried up; as soon as it becomes damp, they turn green.

features

The plant reaches a height of 6 to 20 cm. The blade is linear to linear-lanceolate in outline, dull, pinnate, with nine to twelve semicircular to egg-shaped, whole-margined sections on both sides. The underside of the leaf is covered with permanent, tiled roof covering, light brown, egg-shaped chaff scales. These protrude a little on the edge of the leaf and thus give the frond a silvery edge. When dry, the leaves roll up. The chaffed side then protects the plant from evaporation. The spores reach their maturity between June and August.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 144, only for the subspecies. bivalent it is 2n = 72.

Occurrence

The main distribution area of ​​the spleen fern is in Mediterranean areas rising from the plains to higher mountain areas. In France, several interesting sites in the south of the Savoy have been confirmed at altitudes between 1100 and 1600 m. In this region, the plant withstands periods of drought and considerable temperature differences without being damaged. In Austria it is very rare in Burgenland and threatened with extinction; in Vorarlberg it is considered to be extinct. In Germany they are found in mild winter locations and especially in wine-growing areas of river valleys, such as. B. the Rhine Valley. The spleen fern thrives in crevices in the rock and wall. In temperate Europe these are more likely to be settled in sunny locations, in southern Europe preferably in shady places. It is a species of character of the class Asplenietea trichomanes.

ecology

As a xerophyte , the spleen fern is adapted to dry locations in various ways. When water is lost, this alternately moist plant restricts its metabolic processes, but does not die. When it is dry, the cells on the upper side of the frond shrink more, causing the underside of the leaf, which is covered with chaff scales, to turn upwards and the leaf finally curls inwards. This reduces the evaporation rate. The rust-brown flakes of chaff reflect the incident sunlight to a high degree, which protects the chlorophyll. They also support rapid water absorption, as they promote rapid capillary water conduction even with short-term moisture, such as night dew.

Systematics

The spleen fern was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum .

There are three subspecies, which mainly differ in terms of their number of chromosomes and their spore size:

  • Asplenium ceterach subsp. bivalens (DE Meyer) Greuter & Burdet , syn.Asplenium javorkeanum Vida , Ceterach javorkeanum (Vida) Soó . This subspecies is diploid with 2n = 72 chromosomes , the size of the spores ranges from 32 to 39 µm. It is rare and occurs in Italy, Hungary, southeastern Europe and Turkey.
  • Asplenium ceterach L. subsp. ceterach : This is the common subspecies; it is tetraploid with 2n = 144 chromosomes, the size of the spores ranges from 41 to 48 µm. It occurs in Europe (especially in the Mediterranean area), in North Africa, in the Middle East to East Asia.
  • Asplenium ceterach subsp. mediterraneum Pinter (Syn .: Asplenium cyprium Viane & Van den heede ): It occurs in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Tunisia, Greece and Cyprus.

particularities

In the Middle Ages, the fern , known as ceterac and cetrac (from Arabic chet [e] rak ), was used as a medicine against spleen diseases and to drive out fever. Spleen fern was used especially in powdered form, for example by a lay doctor named Polhaimerin in Lower Bavaria who was active in the 15th century and who specialized in the expulsion of urinary stones.

Common names

The other common German names for the spleen fern exist or existed : Cetarad, Ceterac, Ceterrad, Cetrac, Kleine Hirschzunge ( Thuringia ), Spleen fern ( Silesia ), Milzkraut, Nösselfahrn, Steinfarn and Zecht.

literature

  • Gerhard KF Stinglwagner, Ilse E. Haseder, Reinhold Erlbeck: Das Kosmos Wald- und Forstlexikon , Kosmos, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-440-10375-7 .
  • Botany in the picture - Flora of Austria
  • Philippe Julve: Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France. Accessed April 23, 2004 (online).
  • Tadeus Reichstein : Aspleniaceae . In: Karl Ulrich Kramer (ed.): Illustrated flora of Central Europe. Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta . Founded by Gustav Hegi. 3rd, completely revised edition. Volume I. Part 1 Pteridophyta . Paul Parey, Berlin / Hamburg 1984, ISBN 3-489-50020-2 , p. 221-224 .
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany. A botanical-ecological excursion companion to the most important species . 6th, completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7 .

Web links

Commons : Asplenium ceterach  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tropicos. [1]
  2. ↑ a b Ruprecht Düll, Irene Düll: Pocket dictionary of the Mediterranean flora. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2007, ISBN 978-3-494-01426-5 , pp. 95f
  3. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  78-79 .
  4. ↑ Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum. Volume 2, Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae 1753, p. 1080, digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.biodiversitylibrary.org%2Fopenurl%3Fpid%3Dtitle%3A669%26volume%3D2%26issue%3D%26spage%3D1080%26date%3D1753~GB%3D~ IA% 3D ~ MDZ% 3D% 0A ~ SZ% 3D ~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D
  5. ↑ a b Sandro Pignatti (Ed.): Flora d'Italia . Vol. 1. Edagricole, Bologna 2003, ISBN 88-506-2449-2 , pp. 59 (Third unaltered reprint of the 1st edition from 1982).
  6. ↑ Christenhusz, M. & Raab-Straube, E. von (2013): Lycopodiophytina. - In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Datasheet Asplenium ceterach In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
  7. ^ Rudolf Schubert and Günther Wagner: Plant names and botanical terms. Botanical Lexicon with an “Introduction to Terminology and Nomenclature” [...]. 6th edition. Melsungen et al. 1975, p. 101.
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Wegner: Polhaimerin. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1173.
  9. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 88. ( online ).