Abstract:
The Genus
The genua Botrychium was established by Swartz in 1801 and is placed in the family Ophioglossaceae in the order Ophioglossales. This order and Family are considered by many modern authorities to be the most primitive ferns. They are eusporangiate ferns with large, many spored sporangia. Though the fossil record is scanty the family is accepted as primitive on the basis of its present day distribution, anatomy and morphology.
The genus was established for a group of species that had previously been placed under Osmunda L. and initially contained five species, B. lunaria, B. rutaceum, B. virginianum, B. ternatum and B. zeylanicum. The genus is now usually considered to have three major divisions (subgenera.).
