Botrychium pumicola

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Pumice moonwort
MDF Botrychium pumicola 01.JPG
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Ophioglossales
Family: Ophioglossaceae
Genus: Botrychium
Species:
B. pumicola
Binomial name
Botrychium pumicola

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

Contents

Distribution

The fern is endemic to the Modoc Plateau in northern California and Crater Lake area in southern Oregon. [1]

A specimen from a population found on Mount Shasta in California by Cooke in 1941 was thought to have been misidentified, but the specimen was recently reviewed by Farrar, and found to be correctly identified. [2] Botrychium pumicola was rediscovered on Mt. Shasta in 2008 by M. Colberg. It is also found in the Modoc National Forest.

Habitat

Pumice moonwort, as the common name suggests, live in dry, fine to course pumice gravel and scree without any admixture of humus, in places that retain moisture into late spring. Its native landscape is open, fully exposed, sparsely vegetated pumice fields and gently rolling slopes, from subalpine lodgepole pine forest to above timberline. It may also occur in Pinus contorta Purshia tridentata basins with open frost pockets. During the winter, it is usually covered by several feet of snow. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Botrychium pumicola has been found growing with B. lanceolatum and B. simplex .[ citation needed ] Elevation of occurrence is from 4,240 to 9,065 feet above sea level. [10]

Description

Botrychium pumicola is a mycorrhizal fern, and grows sporophytic gemmae (i.e., little structures for the asexual reproduction of the sporophytic, or diploid, phase of the plant's life cycle). Some botanists believe that the gemmae might be adaptations to a dry climate and fires. [3] Another name for plants of the genus Botrychium is 'grapeferns,' since the sexual reproductive structures (synangia) look like tiny yellow-green grapes.

The plant is stout, with a very congested appearance, fleshy, 8–22 cm (3–9 in) high. Leaves appear in summer. Roots are abundant, 1 mm (0.004 in) or less in diameter. The rhizome is erect, stout, elongate (2–8 cm, 1-3 in, long and 3 mm, 0.1 in, in diameter).

Fronds are one or sometimes two, erect, 6–14 cm, 2-5½ in, long, the common stalk hypogean, 4–9 cm, 1½-3½ in, long and 2-3½ mm, 0.08-0.14 in, in diameter, thickly sheathed with the stems of old fronds. Trophophore is sessile or nearly so; stalk 0–10 mm, 0-0.4 in, a tenth to a half the length of trophophore rachis; blade is dull, strongly glaucous, whitish green, deltate (triangular), thickly leathery, twice pinnate, with apex bent down in vernation, 2–4 cm, 1-1½ in, long and 1½-4 cm, ½-1½ in, broad; ternate, the middle division the largest, broadly oblong to rounded-deltoid, the lateral ones similar or rhombic-oblong, all pinnately parted; pinnae closely imbricate (overlapping), up to 6 pairs, strongly ascending, sublunate to flabelliform, broadly crenate to incised, or the larger ones radially cleft into cuneiform lobes; distance between 1st and 2nd pinnae not or slightly more than between the 2nd and 3rd pairs, asymmetrically cuneate; basal pinna pair often divided into 2 unequal parts, lobed to tip, margins entire, sinuate to shallowly crenate, apex rounded to truncate, venation pinnate.

The trophophore is located high on the common stalk, but the common stalk is subterranean, giving the impression that the leaf originates near ground level. Sporophore is once to thrice pinnate, with the tip recurved in vernation, sessile or short-stalked, equalling or surpassing (1 to 1½ times) the sterile blade, but with the stalk shorter than the trophophore; extremely compact sporangial cluster. [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

It is in the adder's-tongue family (Ophioglossaceae), and may be closely related to the whisk ferns of the family Psilotaceae. These two families together, according to recent research, share a common ancestor which appears to have diverged early on from the rest of the fern lineage; this probably explains the distinctive morphologies of the members of these two families. [11]

There was speculation that Botrychium pumicola is a variety of Botrychium simplex. The two species are indeed closely related, with Botrychium montanum also somewhat closely related. It has been determined that Botrychium pumicola is a separate species. [12]

Ecology

The fire ecology of this plant is not known, but open, sparsely vegetated pumice probably does not carry fire well. This plant is neither likely to encounter fire nor tolerate it well.

Conservation status and threats

Some of the principal threats to this species are fern collecting and habitat disruption caused by recreational use, timber harvesting, and pumice mining. [14]

Field identification

The best time of year to look for this plant is from July to September. [15] The sessile trophophore and very short-stalked sporophore serve to distinguish this species from B. simplex .[ citation needed ] Pumice moonwort has a bluish-grey-green color, as opposed to B. lanceolatum , whose color is more yellow-green. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophioglossaceae</span> Family of ferns

Ophioglossaceae, the adder's-tongue family, is a small family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is the only family in the order Ophioglossales, which together with the Psilotales is placed in the subclass Ophioglossidae. The Ophioglossidae are one of the groups traditionally known as eusporangiate ferns. Members of the family differ from other ferns in a number of ways. Many have only a single fleshy leaf at a time. Their gametophytes are subterranean and rely on fungi for energy.

<i>Botrychium</i> Genus of ferns in the family Ophioglossaceae

Botrychium is a genus of ferns, seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae. 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.

<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>Botrypus</i> North American 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>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>Botrychium ascendens</i> North American species of moonwort

Botrychium ascendens is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common names triangle-lobe moonwort and upswept moonwort. It is native to North America from British Columbia to northern California as well as parts of eastern Canada. It lives in different habitat types, including grassy riverside areas. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex and sending one yellow-green leaf above the surface of the ground. The leaf is up to 6 centimeters tall and is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf has fan-shaped or wedge-shaped leaflets. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with tiny grapelike clusters of sporangia by which it reproduces.

<i>Botrychium crenulatum</i> North American species of moonwort

Botrychium crenulatum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common names scalloped moonwort and dainty moonwort. It is native to North America from British Columbia to California to Wyoming, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing incidentally at scattered spots on wet meadows in coniferous forests and marshy areas such as swamps. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex and sending one thin, shiny, yellow-green leaf above the surface of the ground. The leaf is up to about 6 centimeters tall and is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf has veined, fan-shaped leaflets with wrinkly edges. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with tiny grapelike clusters of sporangia by which it reproduces.

<i>Botrychium lunaria</i> Worldwide temperate species of moonwort

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 minganense</i> North American species of moonwort

Botrychium minganense is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name Mingan moonwort. It is native to North America from Alaska and northern Canada to Arizona, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing at scattered spots in coniferous forests and marshy areas such as swamps.

<i>Botrychium montanum</i> North American species of moonwort

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>Botrychium pinnatum</i> North American species of moonwort

Botrychium pinnatum is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae, known by the common name northwestern moonwort. It is native to North America from Alaska to northern Canada to California and Arizona, where it is generally scattered and uncommon, growing in coniferous forests and grassy meadows. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex and sending one thin, shiny, 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 flat sterile part of the leaf has oval to widely lance-shaped 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> A Northern Hemisphere species of moonwort

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>Dryopteris macropholis</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris macropholis is a species of fern. It is distributed on the Marquesas Islands.

<i>Botrychium matricariifolium</i> Temperate Northern Hemisphere species of moonwort

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> North American species of moonwort

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> North American species of moonwort

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>Botrychium campestre</i> North American species of moonwort

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. List of plants on the Modoc National Forest
  2. Cooke, Wm. Bridge (1949). "Second Supplement to the Flora of Mount Shasta". American Midland Naturalist. 41 (1): 174–183. doi:10.2307/2422024. JSTOR   2422024.
  3. 1 2 Camacho, Francisco J. (1996). "New Report of Subterranean Sporophytic Gemmae on Botrychium pumicola". American Fern Journal. 86 (1): 27–28. doi:10.2307/1547607. JSTOR   1547607.
  4. 1 2 Abrams, Leroy (1923). "Botrychium pumicola Coville". Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States, Vol. I: Ferns to Birthworts. Stanford University Press. p. 3.
  5. 1 2 Coville, Frederick V. (1901). "The Home of Botrychium pumicola". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 28 (2): 109–111. doi:10.2307/2477886. JSTOR   2477886.
  6. 1 2 Wagner, Warren H.; Florence S. Wagner (1993). "Botrychium pumicola". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. 2. New York and Oxford.
  7. Kozloff, Eugene N. (2005). Plants of Western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia . Timber Press. pp.  38. ISBN   9780881927245.
  8. 1 2 Wagner, Warren H.; Florence S. Wagner (1986). "Genus Communities as a Systematic Tool in the Study of New World Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae)". American Fern Journal. 76 (2): 60. JSTOR   1219850.
  9. "Regional Forester's Sensitive Plant List: Willamette National Forest, September 2001". Willamette National Forest. Retrieved 2007-01-27.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. "Pumice grape-fern (Botrychium pumicola)" (PDF). Oregon Department of Agriculture. 2011. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  11. Judd, Walter S.; Christopher S. Campbell; Elizabeth A. Kellogg; Peter F. Stevens; Michael J. Donoghue (2002). "8". Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach (Second ed.). Sinauer Associates, Inc. pp. 191–192.
  12. Hauk, Warren D. (1995). "A Molecular Assessment of Relationships Among Cryptic Species of Botrychium subgenus Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae)". American Fern Journal. 85 (4): 375–394. doi:10.2307/1547816. JSTOR   1547816.
  13. California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): Botrychium pumicola . accessed 4.29.2016.
  14. 1 2 "NatureServe website: Botrychium pumicola". Archived from the original on 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  15. PacifiCorp (August 2002). "Threatened and Endangered Species Inventory: Terrestrial Resources. Klamath Hydroelectric Project" (Document). FERC No. 2082.