Box 9JJ Moonwort fern

Moonwort fern

Source: M Schnittler


The moonworts are small ferns possessing only one leaf up to 15 cm long, consisting of a sterile lamina and a fertile spike. Because of their complicated biology they are a good example of naturally rare plants. Botrychium matricariifolium is a species found in relatively dry, often acid grassland and open woodland habitats. Moonworts are saprophytic, associated with fungi, with which they develop a symbiosis. Only in favourable years does the single leaf appear; in bad years the plant survives below ground. Threats to the species are twofold: by acceleration of vegetation succession through nutrient input, and by loss of potential growth sites due to human urbanisation and settlement. A rapid loss of sites can be expected as a consequence. Map 9.26 shows the difference between long-term mapping by the Flora European project (Jalas and Souminen, 1972) and the estimation of the degree of threat in the national Red Data Books. Effective protection of the species is difficult; creation of special nature reserves often takes too long, by which time the fern often disappears. Only larger areas, which are less polluted and with sustainable agriculture, can provide enough potential growth sites for the survival of the species.


Map 9.26 - Distribution of the moonwort fern (Botrychium matricariifolium)

Source: M Schnittler, personal communication