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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. | |||||||||
| MINGAN MOONWORT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Botrychium minganense | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Mingan moonwort has sterile and fertile blades from a common stalk that is between three and 11 cm long. The sterile blade is sessile or stalked from the common stalk and is attached above the middle of the plant. The sterile blade is up to 10 cm long and may have up to 10 pairs of pinnae. The bottom pair of pinnae is about equal in size to the second pair. The margins of the pinnae are entire to round-toothed to occasionally lobed. The fertile stalk is 2 to 9 cm long. The fertile blades are 1.5 to 2.5 times longer than the sterile blades. The sporangia are short-stalked or sessile. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Mingan moonwort grows in open fields and meadows, gravel slopes, and shores. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is relatively widespread in Saskatchewan and occurs in the following ecoregions: Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, and Mid-Boreal Upland. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Mingan moonwort is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It occurs in a relatively large area of the province but is almost always locally sparse. No immediate threats are known but are possible in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY MINGAN MOONWORT | |||||||||
| * Is the sterile blade attached above the middle
of the plant? * Are there up to 10 pairs of pinnae? * Do the fertile blades have two rows of spore sacs? * Did you find it in an open field, meadow, or shore in Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Mingan moonwort! | |||||||||
