Ferns 2026

Moonworts 1 Daisy-leaf Moonwort

As we progress through Spring and the fiddlehead season, we look forward to seeing some of the less common and uncommon ferns, such as the Moonworts. There are a few Moonworts one might be lucky enough to find in this area, but it takes a lot of looking, and luck. I was out on a hike with friends on a rainy day in June several years ago when I happened to see a small plant that I did not recognize, but thought might be a fern. I had to wait until I got home and referred to my fern books and Randy to determine what it was. It was a Moonwort, not this species but one I will show next time. It was complete luck, and a wonderful surprise! Emily Sessa (Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses and Quillworts of the Eastern North America, 2024, pg.193) has some good descriptions on the difficulties of both finding and identifying Moonworts. She describes them as "notoriously difficult to find when you are looking for them" because they are often quite small (most of the ones we saw this week were about an inch tall), have "fairly specific preferences for soil type, moisture level and degree of habitat disturbance" and are dependent upon different mycorrhizal fungi that have their own specific habitat preferences. And more than one species can grow in the same area. Sessa describes identification of the individual plants to species as sometimes "quite challenging". Randy and I agree!

The most common Moonwort we have seen is this one, the Daisy-leaf Moonwort (Botrychium matricariifolium). The range map in Sessa's book shows it occurring in Northeastern US, extending into Canada, and out to Minnesota. Moonworts are generally found in cooler habitats and higher altitudes.

The species name matricariifolium was given to this plant because the leaf appeared similar to the chamomile (Matricaria) leaf. Moonworts are small, green and fleshy. They are starting to come up now, and will dry up by summer. Please let us know if you ever think you might have seen one!

The next Fern Walk this season will be Sunday June 7th from 1-2PM. It will be for Beginners Only, since it will be focusing only on what features to look for to identify the 10 most common ferns in our area. It will be along Tower Rd at Mt Toby, off Reservation Rd in Sunderland. If you are really rusty on your Fern Identification and want to develop a good search image for the Top 10 Most Common Ferns, you are welcome of course. See poster attached to calendar event for more details. We will have a broader fern walk later in the month. We are deciding on locations now.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Thu, May 21, 2026
Updated: Thu, May 21, 2026