Question

Asplenium ruta-muraria macroscopic features

Answer 1

Macroscopic things are large enough to be seen without using a microscope.

The ruta-muraria roughly translates to bitter herb of walls. It is a small epipetric calciphile, growing among the myriad cracks and crevices where microclimates are favorable for its spores to germinate.

• Evergreen perennial small tufted fern growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a slow rate.
• Roots are not proliferous.
• Stems short-creeping to erect, often branched, scales very dark brown throughout, narrowly deltate, 1 to 3 × 0.1 to 0.25 mm, margins with widely spaced teeth.
• Leaves are monomorphic.
• Petiole (the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem)proximally reddish brown , distally green, dull, 1 to 9 cm, 1 to 2 times length of blade, indument of dark brown, narrowly deltate scales proximally grading into multicellular hairs.
• Blade deltate-ovate to obovate or oblanceolate, 1--2(--3)-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, 2--6 × 1--4 cm, somewhat thick, glabrous; base obtuse; apex acute to rounded, not rooting.
• Rachis entirely green, dull, glabrous except for very sparse, minute hairs.
• Pinnae in 2 to 4 pairs no more than 5 on each side, deltate-ovate to obdeltate; proximal (largest) pinnae 7 to 30 × 5 to 20 mm; base truncate to acute; margins finely (sometimes coarsely) incised; apex rounded to acute; pinnae quickly decreasing in complexity as you move towards the top. Each pinnae with toothed pinnules.
• Veins free, evident.
• Sori (cluster of sporangia), on backs of both basiscopic (facing or on the side toward the base) and acroscopic (Toward or facing the apex) sides. As many as 30 or more per pinna, usually 1 to 5 per segment.