_Adder’s-Tongue Family_
More or less succulent fern-like plants, consisting of a stem and
leaf growing from a fleshy root. Sporophyll in the form of a spike or
panicle.
[Sidenote: =Botrychium lunaria= (L.) Sw. _Moon-wort._]
Very fleshy, 2—12 inches high. Leaf usually sessile, borne at or
above the middle of the stem, pinnate with 2—8 pairs of moon-like or
fan-shaped lobes which vary from crenate to entire and either close
and folded together or distant; spore-bearing portion 2—3 pinnate,
often dense, 1—2 inches long, about as high as the leaf.
In open or exposed situations, frequently on the tops of the highest
mountains, rather rare; occurring in midsummer.
[Sidenote: =Botrychium simplex= E. Hitchcock. _Small Moon-wort._]
Plant 2—6 inches high, slender and very variable. Leaf ovate, obovate
or oblong, entire, lobed or pinnately parted, borne near the base of
the stem; spore-bearing portion a simple or slightly compound spike,
sometimes reduced to only a few sporanges; apex of the leaf and
spore-bearing portion erect in fruit.
In alpine meadows or grassy slopes, frequently through the Rockies but
very inconspicuous; during summer.
[Sidenote: =Botrychium virginianum= (L.) Sw. _Virginia Grape Fern._]
Stem slender, 4 inches to 2 feet high. Leaf thin, ternately divided
and spreading 3—12 inches across, pinnately much divided into
oblong-toothed segments; spore-bearing portion long-stalked, much
above the leaf 2—3 pinnate, cinnamon brown, when ripe.
In rich moist woods, sparingly throughout the region during the summer.