Botrychium virginianum in California

3 Pages·1997·1.4 MB·English

by  John C Game

Note
Shorter
On
found popu-
Botrychium virginianum in California.— June 23, 1996, I a
Salmon
the
Botrychium virginianum Sw. (rattlesnake fern) in
lation of (L.)
km
Mountains southwestern Siskiyou County, California, about 15 south of
of
The
T40N R9W, plants
the town of Etna (Etna Quadrangle, section 7 or 8).
m
1300 on the west side of
were wooded, boggy area about elevation,
in a at
km
CCC northwest
Road 41N14 (High Road), less than three of
Forest Service
A
with Creek Road. small stream crosses the road at the north
junction Tiger
its
virginianum were observed,
boggy At plants of B.
side of the area. least five
two although only a small part of the wettest
including alongside the road,
{Game
was One specimen was collected 96/043, UC). In addi-
area searched.
Gmel.)
Botrychium multifidum
virginianum, several plants of (S.
tion to B.
angiosperm
were same [Game 96/044, UC). Associated
Rupr. present the
at site
included conspicuous population of Lilium pardalinum and the or-
species a
and
chids Platanthera leucostachys Listera convallarioides.
hemisphere,
Botrychium virginianum widely distributed in the northern
is
any
but has not been documented previously in California. not treated in
It is
and documented populations are
of the standard floras of the state the nearest
Wagner
in Oregon. Populations were mapped in northern Oregon by David H.
University
Botrychium Oregon, unpubl. manuscript.
(Guide the species of in
to
Herbarium, Dept. of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene). Additional sites
and Doug-
Oregon Cascades (Lane County) in
for the species are in the central
and
County southern Oregon threatened and endangered plants
las in [Rare,
How-
animals Oregon, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, 1991).
of
Warren Wagner comm.) virginianum north-
H. seeing in
ever, recalls (pers. B.
ern California several decades ago, but did not collect a specimen. His obser-
vation may be the basis for comments by T. M. C. Taylor [Pacific Northwest
ferns and their University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1970) and by D.
allies,
&
manual
Lellinger [A field of the ferns fern-allies of the United States
fi-
Canada, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1985) that this fern
ranges south to California. Warren H. Wagner (Flora of North America Editorial
Committee Flora North America north Mexico, Oxford Univ. Press,
eds.. of of
New
and
York, 1993) reported the species from every except California,
state
means now known main-
from every
the current find that rattlesnake fern
is
land U.S.
state.
The Salmon Mountains, which are part of the Klamath Ranges of California,
known
The
are already well for their botanical interest. B. virginianum site is
km
Duck These
within 8 of Little Lake and by a tributary of French Creek.
noted southern
locations are for their diversity of conifers, including disjunct
common
populations of Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa, which are
which
well the north. probably no coincidence virginianum, in
to that B.
It is
West able
the also prefers the cooler, wetter climates of the northern states, is
SHORTER NOTE
A
photographed in the field
Botrychium virginianum plant
VOLUME NUMBER
AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL:
87 4 (1997]
152
same southern outpost in Siskiyou County.
to survive in California at this
same
and
virginianum the
occurrence of multifidum B. at site
Finally, the B.
multifidum usually occurs,
supports David H. Wagner's observation that B.
pumicola"
"Anywhere any other Botrychium occurs, with the exception of 5.
Botrychium Oregon, unpubl. manuscript, University
(Guide the species of in
to
Botrychium mul-
Herbarium, Dept. of Biology University of Oregon, Eugene).
known
and from Jackson and
widespread
tifidum relatively in California, is
is
Josephine Counties in southern Oregon. However, too is not reported from
it
Klamath Range region (KR) by Warren H. Wagner in the Jepson
California's
Manual Hickman, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1993).
C. ed.,
(J.
and encouragement, and
thank Alan Smith useful conversations ac-
R. for
I
my who
knowledge the help of companions Doug and Maren Bell, visited the
and
Salmon Mountains with me. thank Peter Zika for refereeing this note
I
Botrychium
providing additional information about the distribution of species
in Oregon.—John C. Game, c/o The University Herbarium, University of Cal-
CA
94720-2465.
1001 Valley Sciences Building, #2465, Berkeley,
ifornia, Life