#asplenium ceterach

[Nikon D850; AF 105mm Micro-Nikkor F2,8 with Circular Flash Nissin  MF 18; 1/250s; F14; 400 ISO]

Dry stone walls -as in, walls built by stacking natural stones without the use of mortar- are always a good place to look for interesting species, generally undemanding and very resilient ones. In this case it was a little evergreen fern known as rustyback which caught my attention while I was hill-walking in northern Italy. Native to Europe and Asia, it’s present here in Scotland, but not nearly as common as it is in the rest of the British Isles and Italy due to its preference for a mostly dry and alkaline substrate in full sun, being fully adapted to survive and recover from desiccation. The common name refers to the colour of the hairy inferior page of the fronds, visible in the photos. If you check the bottom one carefully, you will also see a small A. thricomanes, a related and very common fern I’m particularly fond of and which I have already written about. In Italy it has a history as a medicinal plant, having been used mostly to treat bladder and kidney stones and as a diuretic.  

Asplenium ceterach (syn. Ceterach officinarum)