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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. | |||||||||
| COMMON MOONWORT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Botrychium lunaria | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Common moonwort has one leaf, with the sterile and fertile blades coming from the same stalk. The common stalk is between 2 and 10 cm long. The sterile blade is sessile to the common stalk and is only up to 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. The sterile blade has between three and nine pairs of overlapping pinnae. The distance between the first and second pairs of lobes is equal to or slightly greater than the distance between the second and third pairs of lobes. The fertile blade is 1 to 2 times longer than the sterile blade and is once or twice pinnate. The spore sacs are round and release small, yellow spores. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Common moonwort grows in semi-open to open woods, drying prairie sloughs, and moist meadows. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is widespread in Saskatchewan and occurs in the following ecoregions: Cypress Upland, Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Churchill River Upland. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Common moonwort is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon and is limited to two or three general locations of the province. The populations are almost always locally sparse. No immediate threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY COMMON MOONWORT | |||||||||
| * Are the sterile leaves thick and leathery? * Are the basal pinnae of the sterile leaves broadly fan-shaped? * Do the fertile blades have two rows of spore sacs? * Is the fertile blade once or twice pinnate? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found common moonwort! | |||||||||
