Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud
 
     
   6 Aug 2026      ()
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Asplenium marinum   (Sea Spleenwort Fern)


Asplenium marinum  (ASPLENIACEAE.) 
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.


Website launch: Oct-2002   Taxonomic update: Aug-2026    Code update: Jul-2026

Page Contents + Links

 
General Information Species Images
External Links Support and sales
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Sponsors & Adverts Copyright notes
Aspleniaceae Index Plant Family Index
 
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Datasheet Publication: Oct-2007 (last update: none)
Citation for this page Mifsud, S. (2007). Online Flora of the Maltese Islands (2002-2026): Asplenium marinum - datasheet published on Oct-2007. Retrieved on 06-Aug-2026 from https://www.MaltaWildPlants.com/ASPL/#ASPL

Nomenclature and General Information

Species name :

Asplenium marinumL.
Published in Sp. Pl. 1081 (1753)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Trichomanes maritimum Bubani
Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [WFO] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Aspleniaceae Newman (The Spleenwort Family)
4 species from the Aspleniaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Sea Spleenwort Fern

Maltese name(s) :

Felċi tal-baħar

Status for Malta :

Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Chameophyte ( small woody shrubs with vegetative buds well above the ground )

Legal Protection :

Protected by law: Schedule VI of [S.L. 549.44] (strictly protected species)

Red List (1989) :

Threatened status for the Maltese Islands and has been listed in the Red Data Book (1st ed.)

Flowering Time :

All year

Colour of Flowers:

Inconspicuous

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Asplenium: An old name given by Dioscorides (40 - 90 AD) to a group of ferns commonly known as Spleenworts which were used to treat diseases of the spleen (=splenium). However, Asplenium literally means without a spleen! (Greek origin)
marinum: Related to the sea with reference to its preferred habitat. (Latin origin)

Planting in rural areas :

Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines


Description, Habitat and Distribution
Botanical Description Plant robust. Rhizome with filiform scales at the apex. Leaves 10-30(-40) cm; petiole about 1/2 as long as the lamina, reddish-brown; lamina linear-lanceolate, pinnate, coriaceous, glabrous; rhachis with green wings; pinnae 1-4 cm, oblong, more developed on the upper side, crenate-serrate, the base truncate or broadly cuneate, the apex rounded.
Habitat in Europe Rocks and walls exposed to sea-spray
Preferred habitat in Malta In moist, shaded rock fissures in valleys of scree close to the coast.
Chromosome number(s) 2n=72
Distributional range W. Europe, extending eastwards very locally to S. Italy

Distributional maps from various sources
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993)
the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Corse, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Ireland, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), Portugal, Norway, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
  Country codes  
? Ag Az(C F G J L M P S T) Bl(M N) Br Ca(C F G H L P T) Co Ga(C F) Hb(E N) Hs(S) It Lu Ma Md(D M P) No Sa ?Sg Si(M S) Tn

Links & Further literature (4 papers)

Google Web

Google Images

Google Scholar

Research Gate

Wikipedia

JSTOR

GBIF

Med Checklist

Cat. of Life

EoL

IPNI

World Flora Online

Plants of the World Online

Vienna Virt. Herb.

RBGE Herbarium

KEW Herbarium

MNHN

Garden Database

IUCN

TROPICOS
Update on Maltese Flora (Central Mediterranean) including very rare species or species thought to be extinct from the Maltese islands Stephen Mifsud  (2010)
Current status of Asplenium sagittatum (Aspleniaceae) in the Maltese Islands Stephen Mifsud, Mark Napier, S. Fenech & Louis F. Cassar  (2016)
Rediscovery of Asplenium sagittatum and A. marinum (Pteridophyta: Aspleniaceae) in the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean Sdravko Vesselinov Lalov, Alena Seginkova & Joe Sultana  (2008)
Rediscovery of Asplenium sagittatum and A. marinum (Pteridophyta: Aspleniaceae) in the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean Sdravko Vesselinov Lalov, Alena Seginkova & Joe Sultana  (2008)
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.

Species Images (4 images)
   Asplenium marinum   -   Image Code: ASLMR-0.
   Asplenium marinum   -   Image Code: ASLMR-1.
   Asplenium marinum   -   Image Code: ASLMR-2.
   Asplenium marinum   -   Image Code: ASLMR-3.

Sales and Donations
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta:  Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).

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Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Contribute Information or Report Errors
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage. If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates;   species misidentifications;   incorrect or outdated information,   broken links,   technical website issues,   or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.

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Section A:  Additional Information about this plant species
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Section B:   Where have you seen this plant on the Maltese Islands?
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