Asplenium schweinfurthii
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Asplenium schweinfurthii faces significant pressure from habitat degradation in its restricted montane forest range across eastern Africa. Deforestation for agriculture and human settlement expansion threatens the specialized rocky outcrop and forest edge environments this fern requires. Climate change poses additional risks by altering the moisture regimes essential for this epiphytic species' survival in high-altitude ecosystems.
Habitat
This fern species inhabits montane forests and rocky outcrops at elevations between 1,500-3,000 meters across eastern Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. It typically grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks and branches or on moss-covered rocks in humid forest environments.