Botrychium pumicola
Botrychium pumicola, with the common name pumice moonwort, is a rare fern. Distribution The fern is endemic to the Modoc Plateau in northern California and Crater Lake area in southern Oregon. A specimen from a population found on Mount Shasta in California by Cooke in 1941 was thought to have been misidentified, but the specimen was recently reviewed by Farrar, and found to be correctly identified. Botrychium pumicola was rediscovered on Mt. Shasta in 2008 by M. Colberg. It is also found in the Modoc National Forest. Habitat Pumice moonwort, as the common name suggests, live in dry, fine to course pumice gravel and scree without any admixture of humus, in places that retain moisture into late spring. Its native landscape is open, fully exposed, sparsely vegetated pumice fields and gently rolling slopes, from subalpine lodgepole pine forest to above timberline. It may also occur in Pinus contorta−Purshia tridentata basins with open frost pockets. During the winter, it is usually covered by several feet of snow. Botrychium pumicola has been found growing with B. lanceolatum and B. simplex. Elevation of occurrence is from 4,240 to 9,065 feet above sea level. Description Botrychium pumicola is a mycorrhizal fern, and grows sporophytic