Botrychium paradoxum |
Botrychium lunaria |
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paradox moonwort |
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Habit | Plants 7–15 cm tall above ground, dull green, glaucous in life. | |
Spores | 36– 43 μm. |
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Common stalks | well developed; greater than 2 cm, green. |
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Trophophores | appearing absent, converted entirely to a second sporophore without any trace of lamina. |
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Sporophores | stiffly erect, slightly unequal in length, nearly sessile or with stalks up to 50% the entire sporophore length at spore release; branches much reduced and usually less than 5 mm long, often appearing absent. |
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2n | =180 (allotetraploid, derived; in part; from an undescribed diploid that resembles B. montanum). |
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Botrychium paradoxum |
Botrychium lunaria |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Mesic subalpine meadows, usually among grasses, sedges, and low forbs, but occasionally in denser herbaceous cover or under trees. 1500–1800 m. BW. CA, ID, WA; northwestern North America. Native. Botrychium paradoxum is unique in having two sporophores and no trophophore. However, other species occasionally produce forms with the trophophore partly or completely transformed into a second sporophore. These usually have sporophores of clearly unequal lengths or with elongate branches, and often occur as isolated individuals among normal, trophophorebearing plants. As currently circumscribed, B. paradoxum contains two distinct genotypes. |
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Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 91 Ben Legler |
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Sibling taxa | ||
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