Botrychium-virginianum_18

Description:

Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw., syn.: Osmunda virginiana L., Botrypus virginianus (L.) Michx., Osmundopteris virginiana (L.) Small, Botrychium virginianum subsp. europaeum (ngstr.) R. T. Clausen, Botrychium virginianum var. europaeum ngstr.Rattlesnake Fern, DE: Virginische Mondraute, Virginischer TraubenfarnSlo.: virginijska mladomeseinaDat.: June 11. 2017Lat.: 46.37 Long.: 13.58 (coordinates not precise)Code: Bot_1064/2017_DSC7951Habitat: Riparian forest; Salix eleagnos, Picea abies, a few Pinus sp. dominant trees; on ground level Mercurialis perennis, Rubus saxatilis, Urtica dioica, Hepatica nobilis, Galeobdolon flavidum, Plantanthera bifolia, Cephalanthera rubra, Listera ovata; young alluvial, flat terrain; in shade, moist place, high air humidity; elevation 525 m (1.700 feet); average precipitations ~3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil.Place: Koritnica valley, between fortress Klue and Log pod Mangartom village, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comment: Botrychium virginianum is a widely distributed fern. It is most common in North America and much rarer in Europe and Asia, where it appears only in scattered, small disjunct regions. In the Alps it is present only in their eastern part. In Slovenia it is a rare plant. Its taxonomy is still 'under construction'. Some experts distinguish two taxa: Botrychium virginianum var. virginianum growing in America and Botrychium virginianum var. (or ssp.) europaeum growing in Europe. Based on DNA research some claim it is a monophyletic species belonging to separate genus Botrypus. Actually it differs from other members of the genus Botrychium in several traits including number of chromosomes. Be it as it may, the plant is very old (more than 100 million years), existing even before other ferns had develop their spore producing organs (sporangia that are usually clustered to form sori) on the underside of their leaves (sporophyll fronds). Botrychium virginianum has its sporangia on separate vertical 'leaf', which is much different than its sterile leaf. Spores are distributed by the wind, so no insects are needed for proliferation. Hence the plant is green, displaying no vivid colors to attract them and us. Hence it is hard to find.Nevertheless, it is always a happy experience to come across this plant, partly because it is rare and partly because it usually grows in dark, secluded, mysterious thickets on rarely accessed places. Eight plants have been found this time, two of them were sterile.Protected according to: Uredba o zavarovanih prostoiveih rastlinskih vrstah, poglavje A, Uradni list RS, t. 46/2004 (Regulation of protected wild plants, chapter A, Official Gazette of Republic Slovenia, no. 46/2004), (2004).Enlisted in the Slovene Red List of rare and endangered species, marked by "R" representing a rare species.Ref.:(1) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora fr sterreich, Liechtenstein und Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 233.(2) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije (Flora of Slovenia - Key) (in Slovenian), Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007), p 88. (3) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 1., Haupt (2004), p 64.(4) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 48.(5)https://www.infoflora.ch/assets/content/documents/merkblaetter_artenschutz_de/botr_virg_d.pdf