# Walking Fern (*asplenium rhizophyllum*) The Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum) is a remarkable evergreen fern native to eastern North America. Unlike most ferns that spread primarily via spores, this species has earned its charismatic name through an unusual method of vegetative reproduction. Its long, arching fronds taper to extremely fine, thread-like tips. When these tips touch a moist, mossy surface, they can develop roots and grow into entirely new, independent daughter plants. Over time, a single parent fern can "walk" across rock faces, creating dense, interconnected carpets of cloned offspring. Finding a patch of walking ferns clinging to a shady limestone cliff feels like discovering a hidden, miniature forest world. It represents a beautiful adaptation to life on steep, vertical rock surfaces where soil is scarce and traditional spore colonization can be challenging, making it a highly prized sighting for hikers and botanists alike. - **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant) - **Rarity:** Common - **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low - **Snaps:** 6 - **Habitat:** Found on shaded, moist, mossy limestone or dolomite rock faces within rich, mature deciduous forests. ![Walking Fern](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/133985924/medium.jpeg) Photo: Tom Norton, CC BY 4.0 · [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/133985924) ## Appearance This small fern features simple, undivided, lance-shaped fronds that are leathery, evergreen, and dark green. The fronds have an asymmetrical, heart-shaped base and taper dramatically to a long, narrow, pointed tip, typically growing in spreading rosettes between 5 and 30 centimeters in length. On the undersides of mature fronds, you can find brown, linear spore cases (sori) scattered irregularly along the veins. ## Taxonomy - **Kingdom:** Plantae - **Phylum:** Tracheophyta - **Class:** Polypodiopsida - **Order:** Polypodiales - **Family:** Aspleniaceae - **Genus:** Asplenium ## Interesting facts - Because it requires highly specific alkaline conditions, the presence of Walking Fern is a reliable biological indicator of limestone or dolomite bedrock. - Its common name is a literal description of its movement, as it can propagate across a cliff face at a rate of several inches per generation. - The Walking Fern is a parent species to several naturally occurring sterile and fertile hybrid ferns when it crosses with other Asplenium species. ## Special abilities - **Walking Reproduction:** The fern's long, tapered frond tips develop roots and buds upon contact with moist substrate, allowing it to vegetatively clone itself and physically step across rock surfaces. - **Calciphilic Affinity:** It is specially adapted to thrive on alkaline limestone and dolomite rocks, extracting essential minerals directly from calcium-rich geological formations. - **Evergreen Resilience:** Its leathery, dark green fronds persist through the freezing winter months, allowing the plant to photosynthesize immediately during early spring. ## Measurements & details - **Length:** 5-30 cm - **Weight:** 0.01-0.05 kg - **Lifespan:** 5-15 years ## Diet & Feeding As a photoautotrophic plant, the Walking Fern synthesizes its own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, supplemented by minerals absorbed from calcareous rocks. - **Primary Foods:** Sunlight, Carbon dioxide, Water, Calcium-rich minerals ## Ecological connections - **Mutualism:** Anomodon Moss (*Anomodon attenuatus*) — The moss provides a moist, soil-retaining microhabitat on limestone cliffs that facilitates the walking fern's tip-rooting. - **Eaten by:** [White-tailed Deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-tailed-deer) (*Odocoileus virginianus*) — Occasionally grazes on the evergreen fronds during winter when other food sources are scarce. - **Competitor:** [Maidenhair Spleenwort](https://www.snappit.app/explore/maidenhair-spleenwort) (*Asplenium trichomanes*) — Shares the same shaded, alkaline rocky niches and competes for space and moisture. ## Safety **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low No special safety notes yet. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How to identify Walking Fern? Compare frond shape, how the leaflets are arranged, the stalk, and any spore clusters you can see. A single detached leaflet often hides the plant's overall growth pattern. Fern Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details. ### How long is Walking Fern? 5-30 cm ### How much does Walking Fern weigh? 0.01-0.05 kg ### How long does Walking Fern live? 5-15 years ### What does Walking Fern eat? As a photoautotrophic plant, the Walking Fern synthesizes its own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, supplemented by minerals absorbed from calcareous rocks. ### Where is Walking Fern usually found? Found on shaded, moist, mossy limestone or dolomite rock faces within rich, mature deciduous forests. ## Where to spot - [Bartholomew's Cobble](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bartholomews-cobble) — Massachusetts, US · Nature Reserve - [Bixby State Preserve](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bixby-state-preserve) — Iowa, US · Nature Reserve - [Lock and Dam No. 12](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/lock-and-dam-no-12) — Iowa, US · Historic Site - [Shepherdstown Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/shepherdstown-historic-district) — West Virginia, US · Historic District - [North Fork Valley Rural Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/north-fork-valley-rural-historic-district) — Virginia, US · Historic District [View all places to see Walking Fern](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/walking-fern) ## More Plants - [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*) - [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*) - [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*) - [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*) --- Source: [Walking Fern: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/walking-fern)