Flora of North America species comparison

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Botrychium paradoxum

Paradox moonwort, peculiar moonwort, two-spike moonwort
Trophophores

converted entirely to second fertile segment, stalk 1/2 length of fertile segment.
Sporophores

double, 2 per leaf, 1-pinnate, 0.5–4 cm.
2n

=180.

Botrychium paradoxum
Habitat Sporophores in June to August. Difficult to detect, plants usually hidden under other vegetation, in snowfields, secondary growth pastures
Elevation 1500–3000 m (4900–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
MT; UT; AB; BC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The leaf structure of Botrychium paradoxum is uniform and unique. Very rare teratological individuals of other moonwort species may have trophophores partially or wholly transformed into sporophores.

Botrychium × watertonense W.H. Wagner, known only from one locality in western Alberta, is the sterile hybrid of B. hesperium and B. paradoxum. It can be identified by its trophophore pinnae; all are bordered with sporangia. It may reproduce by some unknown mechanism, such as unreduced spores (W.H. Wagner Jr., F. S. Wagner, et al. 1984).

Of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Ophioglossaceae > Botrychium > subg. Botrychium
Sibling taxa
B. acuminatum, B. ascendens, B. biternatum, B. boreale, B. campestre, B. crenulatum, B. dissectum, B. echo, B. gallicomontanum, B. hesperium, B. jenmanii, B. lanceolatum, B. lunaria, B. lunarioides, B. matricariifolium, B. minganense, B. montanum, B. mormo, B. multifidum, B. oneidense, B. pallidum, B. pedunculosum, B. pinnatum, B. pseudopinnatum, B. pumicola, B. rugulosum, B. simplex, B. spathulatum, B. virginianum
Name authority W. H. Wagner: Amer. Fern J. 71: 24. (1981)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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