Editing Botrychium (section)

==Conservation==

Moonworts can be found in many environments, including prairies, forests, and mountains.  While some Botrychium species are quite rare, conservation efforts can be difficult.  Determining the rarity of a species is complicated by the plants’ small leaves, which stand only 2-10 centimeters above the soil.<ref name="Johnson-Groh2002">{{cite journal | last1 = Johnson-Groh | first1 = C. L. | last2 = Lee | first2 = J. | year = 2002 | title = Phenology and demography of two species of Botrychium (Ophioglassaceae) | journal = American Journal of Botany | volume = 89 | issue = 10| pages = 1624–1633 | doi = 10.3732/ajb.89.10.1624 | pmid = 21665590 }}</ref>  Even more of a challenge in obtaining an accurate population count is the genus's largely subterranean life cycle.  The vast majority of any one population of moonworts actually exists below ground in banks consisting of several types of propagules.  One type of propagule is the ungerminated spores, which must percolate through the soil beyond the reach of light in order to germinate.  This presumably increases the probability that the spore will be in range of a mycorrhizal symbiont before it produces the tiny, roughly heart-shaped gametophyte, which also exists entirely below ground.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Whittier | first1 = D | year = 1973 | title = The effect of light and other factors on spore germination in Botrychium dissectum | journal = Can J Bot | volume = 51 | issue = 10| pages = 1791–1794 | doi = 10.1139/b73-230 | bibcode = 1973CaJB...51.1791W }}</ref>  Finally, some species produce gemmae, a form of asexual propagation achieved by budding of the root.<ref name="Johnson-Groh2002" />

Juvenile and dormant [[sporophyte]]s can also be hidden in the soil for long periods of time.  Mature sporophytes do not necessarily produce a leaf annually; they can remain viable underground for up to 10 years without putting up a photosynthetic component.  This feat is made possible by their dependence on symbiotic partnership with AM fungi of the genus [[Glomus (fungus)|''Glomus'']], which supply most fixed carbon for growth and reproduction.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Winther | first1 = J | last2 = Friedman | first2 = W | year = 2007 | title = Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbionts in Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae) | journal = Am J Bot | volume = 94 | issue = 7| pages = 1248–1255 | doi = 10.3732/ajb.94.7.1248 | pmid = 21636490 }}</ref>

This mycorrhizal dependence has also made lab cultivation of moonworts difficult.  Thus far, only germination of the gametophyte has been successful.
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The only British species is the ''Botrychium lunaria'' ('moonwort'), a little plant pretty frequent in dry mountain pastures.  About a dozen species occur in the United States, ''Botrychium lunaria'' ranges from [[Colorado]] to [[New England]], [[Lake Superior]], and sparingly northward.  ''Botrychium simplex'', a rare species, with small fronds, is found from [[California]] and [[Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone Park]] to Lake Superior and eastward.  ''Botrychium lanceolatum'' ranges from Colorado to Lake Superior, [[Ohio]], [[New Jersey]], and New England.  ''Botrychium lunarioides'' is found from [[Massachusetts]] to [[Florida]] in dry, rich woods and shady pastures.  ''Botrychium ternatum'' occurs throughout [[North America]].
[this is pretty useless information, as it deals with Botrychium sensu lato, and only from a USUK perspective.]
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