OPHIOGLOSSACEAE

ADDER'S-TONGUE FAMILY

Warren H. Wagner, Jr.

Perennial, small, fleshy, generally glabrous; caudex generally underground, unbranched; roots glabrous, with bulblets or plantlets or not
Leaf generally 1 per caudex per year, divided into 2 facing parts with a common stalk; sterile part separated from fertile at to well above ground, blade simple to compound, veins free and forked (or netted, with included veinlets); fertile part bladeless, bearing sporangia, simple to compound
Sporangia dehiscent into 2 valves, ± 1 mm wide, thick-walled
Genera in family: 3 genera, 70–85 species: ± worldwide, generally rare or overlooked. Fern-like plants with many traits of seed plants. Specimens must be carefully spread and pressed for identification; haploid generation underground, fleshy, non-green, associated with fungi.

BOTRYCHIUM

GRAPE-FERN, MOONWORT

Roots smooth, pale or cork-ridged, dark gray, without bulblets or plantlets
Leaf generally deciduous; bud glabrous or hairy; sterile part generally ± 1–3-pinnate (rarely simple or entire), linear to deltate, segments linear to oblong and midribbed or spoon- to wedge- or fan-shaped and not midribbed, veins free, forked, margins entire to dentate or irregularly cut; fertile part 1–3-pinnate, < to > sterile
Sporangia not sunken in axis; stalk 0 or short
Species in genus: 40–50 species: generally temp to arctic or alpine
Etymology: (Greek: bunch of grapes, from clusters of sporangia)
Reference: [Wagner & Wagner 1983 Amer Fern J 73:53–62]
Difficult, needing careful study; most species very uncommon, sporadic; good sampling of populations highly desirable in specimens
Horticultural information: TRY; DFCLT.

Native

B. simplex E. Hitchc.

YOSEMITE MOONWORT

Leaf: stalk < 1 X blade; sterile part separated from fertile well below middle of leaf, generally at top of leaf sheath (well above ground in ± young plants), blade simple, deeply lobed, to 2-pinnate, < 12 cm, oblong to ovate, firm, dull green, segments touching to well separated, fan- to wedge-shaped, ± oblique, not midribbed, outer margins entire to slightly crenate; fertile part 1-pinnate, 3–8 X sterile
Ecology: Uncommon. Open marshes, damp meadows
Elevation: 2200–3300 m.
Bioregional distribution: High North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, Warner Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains
Distribution outside California: to e N.America, Europe, Japan
W North America form probably warrants subsp. or sp. status. W North America plants with sterile leaf part ternate-pinnate have been called var. compositum (Lasch) Milde.