''Botrychium crenulatum'' is a species of
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
in the family
Ophioglossaceae known by the common names scalloped moonwort and dainty moonwort. It is native to North America from
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing incidentally at scattered spots on wet meadows in
coniferous forests
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...
and marshy areas such as swamps. This is very small plant growing from an underground
caudex
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
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
A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cyc ...
by which it reproduces.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
crenulatum
Ferns of California
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