Alpine Flora
of the
Canadian Rocky Mountains

Ophioglossaceæ
Adder’s-Tongue Family

More or less succulent fern-like plants, consisting of a stem and leaf growing from a fleshy root. Sporophyll in the form of a spike or panicle.

Botrychium lunaria (L.) Sw. Moon-wort.

Very fleshy, 2—12 inches high. Leaf usually sessile, borne at or above the middle of the stem, pinnate with 2—8 pairs of moon-like or fan-shaped lobes which vary from crenate to entire and either close and folded together or distant; spore-bearing portion 2—3 pinnate, often dense, 1—2 inches long, about as high as the leaf.

In open or exposed situations, frequently on the tops of the highest mountains, rather rare; occurring in midsummer.

Botrychium simplex E. Hitchcock. Small Moon-wort.

Plant 2—6 inches high, slender and very variable. Leaf ovate, obovate or oblong, entire, lobed or pinnately parted, borne near the base of the stem; spore-bearing portion a simple or slightly compound spike, sometimes reduced to only a few sporanges; apex of the leaf and spore-bearing portion erect in fruit.

In alpine meadows or grassy slopes, frequently through the Rockies but very inconspicuous; during summer.

Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw. Virginia Grape Fern.

Stem slender, 4 inches to 2 feet high. Leaf thin, ternately divided and spreading 3—12 inches across, pinnately much divided into oblong-toothed segments; spore-bearing portion long-stalked, much above the leaf 2—3 pinnate, cinnamon brown, when ripe.

In rich moist woods, sparingly throughout the region during the summer.