Asplenium marinum

Sea spleenwort

Sea spleenwort is a small evergreen fern of Atlantic and western Mediterranean sea cliffs. It grows in crevices and cave mouths, usually within reach of salt spray, and has leathery, glossy pinnate fronds 8–50 cm long. It needs mild, frost-free, constantly humid conditions and rarely survives inland.

Asplenium marinum — Photo: Johan N, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows in sea-cliff crevices, often in the salt-spray zone, and in deep, shaded fissures under overhangs, sea caves, damp shaded cliffs and sometimes old walls near the sea. Inland plants are rare and short-lived.

Measured elevations run 7–108 m, with a median of 63 m (8 records). It is almost always near sea level, with an exceptional Portuguese record near 390 m.

Atlantic Europe: Norway, western Britain and Ireland, Brittany and NormandyIberia: northern and western coasts of Spain and PortugalMacaronesia: Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Selvagens, Cape VerdeWestern Mediterranean: Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, North Africa

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.