New Asplenium species discovered on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

BEIJING -- Chinese researchers have discovered a new species of Asplenium in Qinghai province in the northwestern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, according to the Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Asplenium is one of the ferns with the richest species and the most complex evolutionary history. This genus has abundant diversity because of the undulating landform and changeable climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

During a field survey of ferns in Qinghai province, the researchers discovered a small fern species in a stone crevice in Baishu Mountain, Delingha city.

A comparative study of morphological, cellular, molecular, and geographical evidence indicated that the species was a new member of Asplenium. The researchers named it A. delinghaense S. Q. Liang et X. C. Zhang.

They published their findings in the journal Turczaninowia.