I. SPECIES INFORMATION 

 A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Botrvchium minqanense Victorin 



2. COMMON NAME: Mingan Island Moonwort 



3. FAMILY: Ophioglossaceae (Adder ' s-tongue Family) 



4. GENUS: The genus Botrvchium contains about 50 

 species worldwide, perhaps 25 of which occur in 

 North America (Cody and Britton 1989, Lellinger 

 1985). Botrvchium consists of three subgenera, 

 with the subgenus Botrvchium (Moonworts) 

 containing B. minqanense . The species of 

 Botrvchium are often hard to distinguish since the 

 plants vary greatly according to habitat 

 conditions and maturity. Species have been often 

 confused in floras and herbaria. The plants are 

 difficult to work with both experimentally and in 

 natural populations. 



Recent work by W.H. Wagner (e.g. Wagner and 

 Lord 1956, Wagner and Wagner 1983a, b; 1990) has 

 resulted in many new species being described. 

 Wagner's approach differs from the more classical 

 approach of Clausen's monograph (Clausen 1938) in 

 that V-Jagner has emphasized the species level 

 v/ithout recognizing subspecific levels and has 

 developed the concept of "genus communities" 

 (Wagner and Wagner 1983a) in which several species 

 occur together at one locality. The ultimate 

 usefulness of this approach, which seems to 

 emphasize differences ratner than similarities, is 

 a matter of active debate in the scientific 

 community. 



5. SPECIES: Botrychium minqanense occurs widely in 

 North America although it is nowhere common. It 

 was first described as a species in 1927 (Victorin 

 1927) and was generally considered a variety of B. 

 lunaria until Wagner and Lord (1956) showed the 

 distinctness of the two species. Botrychium 

 lunaria is a diploid (n=45) whereas Botrychium 

 minqanense is a tetraploid (n=90) (Love and Love 

 1976, Wagner and Lord 1956). 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS: Botrychium minqanense has recently 

 been added to the list of sensitive species for 



