Botrychium lanceolatum (Lance-leaf Moonwort)
Ophioglossaceae (Adder's Tongue Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, disturbed areas. Summer.
Lizard Head Trail, August 2, 2011.

One must be very cautious in saying that any Botrychium is easy to identify, but perhaps that can be said of B. lanceolatum. All the photographs on this page show the very broadly triangular shape made by the three branches of the green leaf-like part (the trophophore) of the plant.  That shape sets Botrychium lanceolatum apart from other Botrychium that we find in the Four Corners states.

Click for Don Farrar's page on B. lanceolatum. 

Botrychium lanceolatum (Lance-leaf Moonwort)
Ophioglossaceae (Adder's Tongue Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, disturbed areas. Summer.
Upper Fish Creek below Dolores Peaks, August 24, 2020.

These Botrychium lanceolatum growing in the drought summer of 2020 are half the size of the plants shown in the top photographs from the Lizard Head Trail in 2011. Here the sporophore and trophophore development and the chlorophyll production are much reduced. The triangular shape made by the three branches of the trophophore, the multiple branching of the sporophore, the attachment of the trophophore directly to the base of the sporophore, and the blush along the lower part of the stem are still evident. The photograph at left shows one B. lanceolatum; the two photographs below show two slightly different views of another plant growing just a few feet from the one at left.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Botrychium lanceolatum