Asplenium surrogatum is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae.[1][2] It is endemic to Australia's subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It grows both terrestrially and as an epiphyte. It occurs in forest at high elevations on the island's mountains.[3]

Asplenium surrogatum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Aspleniineae
Family: Aspleniaceae
Genus: Asplenium
Species:
A. surrogatum
Binomial name
Asplenium surrogatum
Synonyms[1]
  • Asplenium lucidum var. incisum (Benth.) Bonap.
  • Asplenium obtusatum var. incisum Benth.

Taxonomy edit

A global phylogeny of Asplenium published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades,[4] which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. A. surrogatum belongs to the "Neottopteris clade",[5] members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue. It forms a clade with A. milnei and A. pteridoides, two other Lord Howe Island endemics, suggesting that all three species diverged after a single colonization of the island by their ancestor.[6] This clade is sister to a large group of Pacific Ocean spleenworts.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Asplenium surrogatum P.S.Green". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "Asplenium surrogatum P.S.Green". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  3. ^ Brown, E.A. "Asplenium surrogatum P.S.Green". PlantNET: New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium of NSW: Sydney. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  4. ^ Xu et al. 2020, p. 27.
  5. ^ a b Xu et al. 2020, p. 31.
  6. ^ Xu et al. 2020, p. 41.