Botrychium

Last updated

Moonwort
Botrychium-4.jpg
Botrychium lunaria
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Ophioglossales
Family: Ophioglossaceae
Subfamily: Botrychioideae
Genus: Botrychium
Sw.
Type species
Botrychium lunaria
(L.) Swartz
Species

Several, see text

Botrychium is a genus of ferns, seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae. [1] Botrychium species are known as moonworts. They are small, with fleshy roots, and reproduce by spores shed into the air. One part of the leaf, the trophophore, is sterile and fernlike; the other, the sporophore, is fertile and carries the clusters of sporangia or spore cases. Some species only occasionally emerge above ground and gain most of their nourishment from an association with mycorrhizal fungi.

Contents

The circumscription of Botrychium is disputed between different authors; some botanists include the genera Botrypus and Sceptridium within Botrychium, while others treat them as distinct. The latter treatment is provisionally followed here.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny of Botrychium [2] [3]

B. echo

B. michiganense

B. furculatum

B. ×watertonense

B. pumicola

section Lanceolatae

B. dusenii

B. matricariifolium

B. acuminatum

B. pinnatum

B. pedunculosum

B. alaskense

B. hesperium

B. pseudopinnatum

B. boreale

B. lanceolatum

section Lunariae

B. tunux

B. lunaria

B. nordicum

B. neolunaria

B. crenulatum

B. yaaxudakeit

B. minganense

B. gallicomontanum

B. pallidum

B. campestre

B. ascendens

B. simplex

B. lineare

B. paradoxum

B. spathulatum

B. montanum

B. mormo

Conservation

Moonworts can be found in many environments, including prairies, forests, and mountains. While some Botrychium species are quite rare, conservation efforts can be difficult. Determining the rarity of a species is complicated by the plants’ small leaves, which stand only 2-10 centimeters above the soil. [16] Even more of a challenge in obtaining an accurate population count is the genus’s largely subterranean life cycle. The vast majority of any one population of moonworts actually exists below ground in banks consisting of several types of propagules. One type of propagule is the ungerminated spores, which must percolate through the soil beyond the reach of light in order to germinate. This presumably increases the probability that the spore will be in range of a mycorrhizal symbiont before it produces the tiny, roughly heart-shaped gametophyte, which also exists entirely below ground. [46] Finally, some species produce gemmae, a form of asexual propagation achieved by budding of the root. [16]

Juvenile and dormant sporophytes can also be hidden in the soil for long periods of time. Mature sporophytes do not necessarily produce a leaf annually; they can remain viable underground for up to 10 years without putting up a photosynthetic component. This feat is made possible by their dependence on symbiotic partnership with AM fungi of the genus Glomus, which supply most fixed carbon for growth and reproduction. [47]

This mycorrhizal dependence has also made lab cultivation of moonworts difficult. Thus far, only germination of the gametophyte has been successful.

Related Research Articles

<i>Sceptridium</i> Genus of ferns

Sceptridium is a genus of seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae, closely allied to the genus Botrychium. It is also closely related to the genus Botrypus. Sceptridium species are commonly called the grape-ferns.

<i>Polystichum</i> Genus of ferns

Polystichum is a genus of ferns in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. The genus has about 500 species and has a cosmopolitan distribution. The highest diversity is in eastern Asia, with about 208 species in China alone; the region from Mexico to Brazil has at least 100 additional species; Africa, North America, and Europe have much lower diversity. Polystichum species are terrestrial or rock-dwelling ferns of warm-temperate and montane-tropical regions. They are often found in disturbed habitats such as road cuts, talus slopes, and stream banks.

<i>Botrypus</i> Species of fern

Botrypus virginianus, synonym Botrychium virginianum, sometimes called rattlesnake fern is a species of perennial fern in the adders-tongue family. It is monotypic within the genus Botrypus, meaning that it is the only species within the genus. It is called the rattlesnake fern in some parts of North America, due to its habit of growing in places where rattlesnakes are also found. Rattlesnake fern prefers to grow in rich, moist woods in dense shade and will not tolerate direct sunlight.

<i>Botrychium pumicola</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium pumicola, with the common name pumice moonwort, is a rare fern.

<i>Sceptridium multifidum</i> Species of fern

Sceptridium multifidum is a fern species in the Ophioglossaceae, known by the common names leathery grapefern and leathery moonwort.

<i>Ranunculus longirostris</i> Species of aquatic plant

Ranunculus longirostris, the longbeak buttercup, is an aquatic plant in the buttercup family.

<i>Botrychium lunaria</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium lunaria is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name moonwort or common moonwort. It is the most widely distributed moonwort, growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere across Eurasia and from Alaska to Greenland, as well as temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

<i>Botrychium montanum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium montanum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common names western goblin and mountain moonwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California to Montana, where it grows in the dark understory of coniferous forests and other moist wooded areas. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex and sending one thin gray-green leaf above the surface of the ground. The leaf is less than 8 centimeters tall and is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf has irregularly shaped angled leaflets. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with grapelike clusters of sporangia by which it reproduces.

<i>Sceptridium dissectum</i> Species of fern

Sceptridium dissectum is a common fern in the family Ophioglossaceae, occurring in eastern North America. Like other plants in this group, it normally only sends up one frond per year. It has long been the subject of confusion because the frond presents in one of two forms, either the normal form that resembles other plants in the genus, or the skeletonized form.

<i>Botrychium boreale</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium boreale, commonly called northern moonwort, is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae. It is a short, single leaved rhizome that stands upright.

<i>Botrychium matricariifolium</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium matricariifolium is a species of fern in the Ophioglossaceae family. It is referred to by the common names chamomile grape-fern, daisyleaf grape-fern, and matricary grape-fern. It is native to Europe and parts of eastern North America, including eastern Canada and parts of the United States.

<i>Botrychium paradoxum</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium paradoxum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name peculiar moonwort. It is native to North America, where there are scattered occurrences in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

<i>Botrychium simplex</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium simplex, the little grapefern, is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae that is native to North America and Greenland. It is a perennial.

<i>Viola sagittata</i> Species of flowering plant

Viola sagittata, commonly called the arrowleaf violet, is a species of flowering plant in the violet family (Violaceae). It is native to the eastern North America in Canada and the United States, where it is widespread. It is found in a variety of natural habitats, but is most common in dry, open communities such as prairies, glades, or woodlands, often in sandy or rocky soil.

<i>Sceptridium biternatum</i> Species of plant

Sceptridium biternatum, the southern grapefern or sparse-lobe grape fern , is a perennial fern in the family Ophioglossaceae, occurring in eastern North America. It occurs in "low woods, in hardwood and pine forests, in fields, and on roadsides." Like other grape ferns, it depends on a mycorrhizal association in the soil to survive.

<i>Botrychium campestre</i> Species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium campestre is a fern species in Ophioglossaceae, commonly called prairiemoonwort, prairie dunewort, Iowa moonwort, or plains grapefern. It was first discovered in 1982 and described a few years later.

References

  1. Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Zhang, Xian-Chun; Schneider, Harald (2011). "A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 19: 7–54. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.19.1.2.
  2. Nitta, Joel H.; Schuettpelz, Eric; Ramírez-Barahona, Santiago; Iwasaki, Wataru; et al. (2022). "An Open and Continuously Updated Fern Tree of Life". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13: 909768. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.909768 . PMC   9449725 . PMID   36092417.
  3. "Tree viewer: interactive visualization of FTOL". FTOL v1.5.0 [GenBank release 256]. 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. B. acuminatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  5. B. alaskense Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 27 Dec 2011
  6. B. alaskense Iowa State Herbarium 27 Dec 2011
  7. B. ascendens Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  8. B. boreale Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  9. B. campestre Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  10. B. campestre Archived 2013-03-17 at the Wayback Machine Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point 27 Dec 2011
  11. B. crenulatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  12. B. daucifolium Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 27 Dec 2011
  13. B. daucifolium Taiwan Plant Names, www.eFlora.org 27 Dec 2011
  14. B. echo Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 03 Jan 2012
  15. B. echo USDA Forest Service,Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project July 22, 2004
  16. 1 2 3 4 Johnson-Groh, C. L.; Lee, J. (2002). "Phenology and demography of two species of Botrychium (Ophioglassaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 89 (10): 1624–1633. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.10.1624. PMID   21665590.
  17. B. gallicomontanum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  18. B. hesperium Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  19. B. lanceolatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  20. B. lineare Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Washington State Department of Natural Resources 26-Dec-2011
  21. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Botrychium lineare". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 Dec 2011.
  22. B. lunaria Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  23. Muller, S. (1992). "The impact of a drought in spring on the sporulation of Botrychium matricariifolium (Retz) A. Br. in the Bitcherland (Northern Vosges, France)". Acta Oecologica. 13: 335–343.
  24. B. matricariifolium Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  25. B. minganense Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  26. B. montanum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  27. B. mormo Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  28. B. neolunaria Iowa State Herbarium 27 Dec 2011
  29. B. pallidum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  30. B. paradoxum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  31. B. pedunculosum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  32. B. pinnatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  33. B. pseudopinnatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  34. B. pumicola Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 03 Jan 2012
  35. B. pumicola Oregon.gov ODA Plant Division, Plant Conservation 03 Dec 2012
  36. B. simplex Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  37. B. socorrense Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 26 Dec 2011
  38. B. spathulatum Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org 26 Dec 2011
  39. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Botrychium tunux". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 27 Dec 2011.
  40. B. tunux Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 26 Dec 2011
  41. B. tunux Iowa State Herbarium 03 Jan 2012
  42. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Botrychium ×watertonense". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 27 Dec 2011.
  43. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Botrychium yaaxudakeit". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 27 Dec 2011.
  44. B. yaaxudakeit Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 26 Dec 2011
  45. B. yaaxudakeit Iowa State Herbarium 27 Dec 2011
  46. Whittier, D (1973). "The effect of light and other factors on spore germination in Botrychium dissectum". Can J Bot. 51 (10): 1791–1794. doi:10.1139/b73-230.
  47. Winther, J; Friedman, W (2007). "Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbionts in Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae)". Am J Bot. 94 (7): 1248–1255. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.7.1248. PMID   21636490.