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Botrychium lunaria  (L.) Sw.
Common moonwort,   Moonwort grapefern
© 2014 Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy
© 2011 Ryan Batten
© 1979 Dean Wm. Taylor
Botrychium lunaria is a fern (rhizomatous) that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
~12 records in California
yellowone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Botrychium
Family: Ophioglossaceae  
Category: fern  
PLANTS group:Fern
Jepson eFlora section: fern

Wetlands: Equally likely to occur in wetlands and non wetlands

Habitat: meadows

Communities: Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, wetland-riparian

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS + POWO
Alternate Names:
PLANTSBotrychium lunaria var. onondagense
JEF + PLANTSBotrychium onondagense
CNPSBotrychium neolunaria
Information about  Botrychium lunaria from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (BOLU)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range: Moonwort has a circumpolar distribution, being recorded in Eurasia, North America and Greenland.[9][10] It also occurs in north Africa, the Himalayas, and temperate zones of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and South America. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 03/29/2025).