Asplenium
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{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Asplenium | image = Asplenium trichomanes subsp quadrivalens.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes subsp. quadrivalens) | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Pteridophyta | classis = Pteridopsida | ordo = Aspleniales | familia = Aspleniaceae | genus = Asplenium L. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text. }}
Asplenium is a genus of about 700 species of ferns, commonly treated as the only genus in the family Aspleniaceae, though some species are occasionally segregated into their own genera. Common names include spleenwort (many species), bird's-nest fern (A. nidus and several allied species), with other distinct names applied to a few individual species.
Both the scientific name and the common name spleenwort are derived from an old belief, based on the doctrine of signatures, that the fern was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds (wort is an ancient name that simply means plant).
A few of these ferns have some economic importance in the horticulture trade. The Bird's-nest Fern (Asplenium nidus and several very similar, closely related species) are commonly found for sale as a house plant. The Australian Asplenium bulbiferum is sometimes available at greenhouses, and is of interest, along with the related Asplenium viviparum, for the many small bulblets borne on the fronds that may grow into new plants. This characteristic is also shared with the eastern North American Walking Fern Asplenium rhizophyllum, and several Mexican species, including Asplenium palmeri. The Ebony Spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron of North America is also sometimes sold in nurseries as a hardy plant. However, many spleenworts are epipetric or epiphytic and difficult to cultivate.
Some classifications include Asplenium in the order Aspleniales.
 Asplenium ceterach |
 Asplenium ruta-muraria |
 Asplenium trichomanes (left) and A. adiantum-nigrum (right), from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885 |
 Asplenium ruta muraria (left) and A. septentrionale (right), from Lindman, Bilder ur Nordens Flora 1917–1926 |
- Selected species