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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GRAPEFERN FAMILY | |||||||||
| The grapefern family is a unique group of plants. Most of the grapeferns found in Saskatchewan are considered endangered or threatened. These plants have short rootstocks and often have a cluster of fleshy roots. The sterile and fertile blades have a common stalk. The common stalk is enlarged at the base and encloses the bud for the next year’s growth. The sterile blades are sessile or on stalks and can be simple to compound. The fertile blades are generally long stalks and may be branched or unbranched. The spore sacs are arranged in two rows on the fertile leaves. The spores are small and yellowish. | |||||||||
| WESTERN MOONWORT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Botrychium hesperium | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Western moonwort has one leaf, with the sterile and fertile blades coming from the same stalk. The sterile blade is sessile to the common stalk or has a short secondary stalk that is up to one quarter the length of the blade. The blade is only up to 5 cm long and has up to six pairs of closely situated or overlapping pinnae. The distance between the first and second pairs of lobes is equal to or slightly larger than the distance between the second and third pairs of lobes. The fertile blade is twice to three times longer than the sterile blade and is once to three times pinnate. The spore sacs are round and release small, yellow spores. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Western moonwort grows in open woods, dry bogs, grassland depressions, moist prairies, lake shores, and north-facing outcrops. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southwestern and east-central Saskatchewan in the Churchill River Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Cypress Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Western moonwort is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare and is limited to two, separated regions of the province. The populations are almost always locally sparse. No immediate threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WESTERN MOONWORT | |||||||||
| * Is the fertile blade two to three times as long
as the sterile blade? * Are the pinnae close or overlapping? * Do the fertile blades have two rows of spore sacs? * Did you find it in southwestern or east-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found western moonwort! | |||||||||
