Botrychium minganense
Encyclopedia
Botrychium minganense is a species of fern
known by the common name Mingan moonwort. It is native to North America from Alaska
and northern Canada to Arizona
, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing at scattered spots in coniferous forests and marshy areas such as swamps. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex
and sending one thin leaf above the surface of the ground. The leaf is up to 10 centimeters tall and is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf has fan-shaped or spoon-shaped leaflets. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with grapelike clusters of sporangia
by which it reproduces.
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
known by the common name Mingan moonwort. It is native to North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and northern Canada to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing at scattered spots in coniferous forests and marshy areas such as swamps. This is very small plant growing from an underground caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
and sending one thin leaf above the surface of the ground. The leaf is up to 10 centimeters tall and is divided into a sterile and a fertile part. The sterile part of the leaf has fan-shaped or spoon-shaped leaflets. The fertile part of the leaf is very different in shape, with grapelike clusters of sporangia
Sporangium
A sporangium is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. All plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cycle...
by which it reproduces.