W.H. Wagner
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.154737
Element CodePPOPH01130
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumFilicinophyta
ClassOphioglossopsida
OrderOphioglossales
FamilyOphioglossaceae
GenusBotrychium
Other Common NamesBotryche pâle (FR)
Concept ReferenceKartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic CommentsFirst described in 1990, from plants formerly identified as B. minganense.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-07-29
Change Date2024-07-29
Edition Date2024-07-29
Edition AuthorsK. Crowley, MRO, rev. Spackman, S. and D. Anderson (2000), rev. L. Morse (2001), rev. K. Gravuer (2008), rev. Johnson, J. (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank ReasonsBotrychium pallidum is a small, inconspicuous fern that has a broad but disjunct range including eastern Maine and eastern Quebec, the Great Lakes region, the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountains, northwestern Montana, southern Alberta, and Saskatchewan. More than 200 occurrences have been documented, but many contain small numbers of aboveground plants. Additional occurrences are expected to be found with continued inventory; the species' range may be more continuous than our present knowledge indicates. The primary threat appears to be the successional overgrowth of habitat; habitat encroachment due to development, agriculture, and recreation is also a concern.
Range Extent CommentsThe range of Botrychium pallidum is broad but highly disjunct across North America. It occurs in Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southeastern British Columbia, and northwestern Montana, central Colorado, the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Great Lakes Region from Minnesota to Ontario and Michigan, the St. Lawrence Seaway of Quebec, and coastal Maine (GBIF 2024, NatureServe 2024). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences CommentsBy applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are more than 200 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact CommentsThe primary threat to B. pallidum appears to be loss of its open, grassy habitat to successional overgrowth, which is likely exacerbated by fire suppression. This species' preference for disturbed, open habitat may lead population viability to be dependent on a shifting mosaic of suitable sites opening for colonization, as occupied sites become overgrown and their generally small populations become vulnerable to local extinction (Chadde and Kudray 2001). Habitat encroachment due to development, agriculture, and recreation are also threats to B. pallidum and its habitat (USDA Forest Service 2000 cited in Chadde and Kudray 2001, Williston 2002). In Quebec, the species is locally threatened by riverine erosion in addition to canopy closure (J. Labrecque pers. comm. 2008). Prolonged drought can be a threat in some areas, as water relations are important to moonworts and their supporting mycorrhizae; moonworts are known not to appear above ground in hot dry years (Chadde and Kudray 2001, Johnston 2002). It is also possible though somewhat unlikely that exotic earthworms are a threat to B. pallidum; this threat is known to impact only B. mormo thus far, which occurs in the habitats most likely to be affected (i.e. those with a thick organic surface layer, in contrast to the open, disturbed habitats apparently preferred by B. pallidum) Chadde and Kudray 2001).