Maidenhair Spleenwort

Last year, when I was graced with an opportunity to trek the local backwoods with members of the Connecticut Botanical Society, members of the knowledgeable and generous group discovered, in its typical rockface habitat, an exceptionally pretty and not-at-all common fern called the Maidenhead Spleenwort. The "maidenhair" part of the common name comes from its resemblance to one of my favorite bryophytes, the Maidenhair Fern, and the "spleenwort" name derives from the human-organ-shape of its spore containers, which are located, in season, on the underside of the leaflets. When I made my first acquaintance with Asplenium trichomanes, it was, I have to admit, love at first sight. It was also, as happens with first loves, a lasting memory. I never forgot my first "maiden," and when I combed a rock face today—alone, alas—and found one. I knew its name, common and scientific, instantly. I thanked my CBS mentors... along with the six or so memory neurons that still seem to work.