Safeplants

Ensure images are uploaded to the Media Library and tagged with "5949" in the "plant_image_tag" taxonomy.

Pale Moonwort (Botrychium pallidum)

Botrychium pallidum, commonly known as Pale Moonwort or Pale Botrychium, is a small, inconspicuous fern with a limited distribution in North America.

Botrychium pallidum has a limited and sporadic distribution in North America.
It is considered vulnerable due to its disjunct range, including eastern Maine and eastern Quebec, the upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, and southwest South Dakota.
In New England, it has been found in a single location in Washington County.
It grows under trees and shrubs in more open habitats, as well as in forest understories, in sandy soils.
One source indicates it's a relatively new addition to the Wisconsin flora and, as of 2014, had only been reported from one county there.

It is a tiny, fleshy, perennial herb.
The plant is typically small, ranging from 10-15 cm in height.
It has a pale green to whitish color.
The leaf (trophophore) is small (approximately 1 inch long), oblong, and pale green, often clasping the spore-bearing stalk.
The trophophore stalk measures 2-8 mm, representing 0-1/5 of the trophophore rachis length.
The leaf (trophophore) is once pinnate, and can be somewhat thickened.
The pinnae are often folded.
The fertile portion of the stem is 2-4 times the length of the sterile leaf.
The sporangia are pale yellow and glabrous.
Spores are pale yellow to white.
The frond may be divided three to four times into cut-margined leaflets.

Botrychium pallidum can be distinguished from small plants of other Botrychium species by its often-folded pinnae.
The species epithet "pallidum" refers to the pale leaf color of the plant.
Some individuals of Botrychium species can remain dormant and produce no above-ground parts.