''Woodsia scopulina'', common name Rocky Mountain woodsia, is a deciduous perennial fern in the family

Woodsiaceae ''Woodsia'' is a genus of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only genus in the family Woodsiaceae, placed in the suborder Aspleniineae. The family can also be trea ...

. This plant is native to the western and northern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. ''W. scopulina'' is a small to medium sized fern, 10-30 centimeters high, which grows in mesic to dry rock crevices.Dale H. Witt, Janet E. Marsh, and Robin B. Bovey, ''Mosses Lichens and Ferns of Northwest North America'' (Edmonton: Lone Pine, 1988), p. 273Burke Herbarium Image Collection, Chaenactis thompsonii
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Description

''Woodsia scopulina'' has twice pinnate fronds arising from a short scaly rhizome. The mostly upright fronds are 10-30 cm in length and up to 8 cm in width and are medium to pale green in color. The pinnae and rachis are sparsely to moderately covered with long hairs that protrude sharply (not appressed to stem), some with a globular gland at the tip. The rachis is grooved on top (adaxially). Small round sori on the underside of pinnae are initially partly covered with a narrowly lobed indusium. New leaves show circinate

vernation Vernation (from ''vernal'' meaning ''spring'', since that is when leaves spring forth in temperate regions) is the formation of new leaves or fronds. In plant anatomy, it is the arrangement of leaves in a bud. In pine species, new leaves are short ...

(tightly curled). Hitchcock, C.L. and Cronquist, A. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd Edition, p. 60. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Range

''Woodsia scopulina'' is widespread in mountains near the west coast of North America from southern Alaska to southern California, and in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to Colorado. There are also isolated populations in northeastern North America.

Habitat

''Woodsia scopulina'' is commonly found in sunny rocky habitats including rock crevices, talus slopes, and rock ledges.

Gallery

Image:Woodsia scopulina JHT1.jpg, Leafing out in spring Image:Woodsia scopulina JHT2.jpg, Growing among talus rock

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
scopulina Ferns of the United States Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Northern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Canada {{Polypodiales-stub