Coptis aspleniifolia

Relaitvely restricted range on the west side of the Cascades crest from Alaska to northern Washington. The Alaska botanist feels that there is not a great threat to the taxon in Alaska (rank S3S4), and the author of the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia considers it "common" in its range in British Columbia, where it is ranked S5. It is quite rare in Washington, at the southern limit of its range.

From SW Alaska south to northern Washington west of the Cascade crest. Reportedly common in British Columbia west of the Coast-Cascade Range (Douglas et al., 1999), and Pojar and MacKinnon (1994) considered it "widespread and common" in its British Columbia and Alaskan maritime range.

This taxon is not tracked throughout its range, though there are 6-8 occurrences in Washington and over 30 occurrences in Alaska. IT is considered common in British Columbia.

Some locations throughout the range would be subject to timber harvest, but there is no research on the effects of timber harvest or what the overall threat of harvest would be to the viability of the taxon. This species is also collected to a certain extent for medicinal use, but collection probably does not pose a significant threat at this time, when viewed across the species' range, while it may impact some local populations. A related Asian species, Coptis sinensis, is cultivated for medicinal use (Tilford, 1998).