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

Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossaceae, the adder's-tongue family, is a small family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only family in the order Ophioglossales, which together with the Psilotales is placed in the sub ...

. ''Botrychium'' species are known as moonworts. They are small, with fleshy roots, and reproduce by

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s 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. The circumscription of ''Botrychium'' is disputed between different authors; some botanists include the genera ''

Botrypus ''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 withi ...

'' and '' Sceptridium'' within ''Botrychium'', while others treat them as distinct. The latter treatment is provisionally followed here.

Taxonomy

* – pointed moonwort * – Alaska moonwort * – upswept moonwort, triangle-lobed moonwort, upward-lobed moonwort * – northern moonwort * – prairie moonwort, prairie dunewort, Iowa moonwort * – dainty moonwort, crenulate moonwort * – thin-leaved moonwort * '' Botrychium dusenii'' (Christ 1906) Alston 1960 * – reflected grapfern * '' Botrychium furculatum'' Popovich & Farrar 2020 * – Frenchman's Bluff moonwort * – western moonwort * – triangle moonwort, triangle grapefern, lance-leaved grapefern * ''

Botrychium lineare ''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 tr ...

'' – skinny moonwort, narrowleaf grapefern * '' Botrychium lunaria'' – common moonwort, grapefern moonwort * ''

Botrychium matricariifolium ''Botrychium matricariifolium'' ( orth.var. ''B. matricariaefolium'') 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 ...

'' – daisy-leaved moonwort, matricary grapefern, matricary moonwort, chamomile grapefern * '' Botrychium michiganense'' Wagner ex Gilman, Farrar & Zika 2015 (Michigan moonwort) * ''

Botrychium minganense ''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, ap ...

'' – Mingan's moonwort * ''

Botrychium montanum ''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 gro ...

'' – western goblin, mountain moonwort * ''

Botrychium mormo ''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 ...

'' – little goblin moonwort * '' Botrychium neolunaria'' – common moonwort * ''

Botrychium pallidum ''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 tr ...

'' – Pale moonwort * ''

Botrychium paradoxum ''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, Oreg ...

'' – paradox moonwort, peculiar moonwort * ''

Botrychium pedunculosum ''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 tr ...

'' – stalked moonwort * ''

Botrychium pinnatum ''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 an ...

'' – northern moonwort * '' Botrychium pseudopinnatum'' – false northwestern moonwort, false daisy-leaved grapefern * ''

Botrychium pumicola ''Botrychium pumicola'', with the common name pumice moonwort, is a rare fern. Distribution The fern is endemic to the Modoc Plateau in northern California and Crater Lake area in southern Oregon. A specimen from a population found on Mount ...

'' – pumice moonwort, pumice grape-fern * ''

Botrychium simplex ''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. Conservation status in the United States It is listed as a special concern specie ...

'' – least moonwort, little grapefern, least grapefern * ''

Botrychium socorrense ''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 tr ...

'' – Isla Socorro moonwort * ''

Botrychium spathulatum ''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 tr ...

'' – spatulate moonwort, spoon-leaved moonwort * '' Botrychium sutchuanense'' Chien & Chun 1959 * '' Botrychium tolucaense'' Wagner & Mickel 2004 * '' Botrychium tunux'' – moosewort * '' Botrychium × watertonense'' – Waterton grapefern * '' Botrychium yaaxudakeit'' – giant moonwort, Yakutat moonwort

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. 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. Finally, some species produce gemmae, a form of asexual propagation achieved by budding of the root. Juvenile and dormant

sporophyte A sporophyte () is the diploid multicellular stage in the life cycle of a plant or alga which produces asexual spores. This stage alternates with a multicellular haploid gametophyte phase. Life cycle The sporophyte develops from the zygote pr ...

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

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Botrychium'' (grapeferns)

Efloras.org: Flora of North America, treatment of genus ''Botrychium'' ITIS.gov: List of ''Botrychium'' species
— ''with species links''. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1353804 Fern genera Ferns of the Americas Ferns of the United States Taxa named by Olof Swartz