Ferns New to the Wallowa Mountains, Oregon

Abstract

New records for seven fern species from the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Or- egon are detailed. Two of these, Botrychium campestre and B. paradoxum, are additions to the flora of Oregon, and Cryptogramma stelleri is finally confirmed as a member of the Oregon flora, following an unverified 1932 report. Forty-seven pteridophyte species are now known to grow in the Wallowa Mountains, more than half of the fern diversity of Oregon. Situated in the northeastern corner of Oregon, in a physiographic province that includes the Ochoco Mountains and Blue Mountains, the Wallowa Moun- tains support a flora that combines both Cascade Range and Rocky Mountain influences. The combination of geographic location, a deep elevation range, and a mix of limestone, granitic, and volcanic bedrock types combine to sup- port a relatively diverse pteridophyte flora. Mason (1980) reported 35 species of ferns and fern allies from the Wallowas. Since 1980, W. H. and F. S. Wagner have recorded four additional species of Botrychium from the Wallowas, B. crenulatum, B. ascendens, B. lineare, and B. pedunculosum. The last three species were described by Wagner and Wagner (1986, 1994), with type local- ities from the Wallowas. A recently described species of Cryptogramma, C. cascadensis E.R. Alverson (Alverson, 1989), is also well documented from her- barium collections as occurring in the Wallowas. Thus, to date, 40 species of pteridophytes have been reported from the Wallowas. The purpose of this note is to report the existence of populations of seven fern species not previously reported, or reported but not confirmed, from the Wallowa Mountains. These additions bring the total number of pteridophytes known from the Wallowa Mountains to 47 species, or 53% of the approxi- mately 88 pteridophyte species known to occur in Oregon. Of these, Botry- chium campestre and B. paradoxum are additions to the flora of Oregon (Flora of North America Editorial Committee, 1993). Cryptogramma stelleri is finally confirmed as a member of the Oregon flora, as no voucher was ever found to verify the earlier report from the Wallowa Mountains (Frye, 1932). All of our sites are in the Eagle Cap Ranger District of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, in Wallowa County, Oregon. Botrychium campestre W.H. Wagner & Farrar (prairie moonwort) is an east- ern grassland species noted for its peculiar, spherical root gemmae. It is re- markably disjunct in the Wallowa Mountains. The nearest recorded population is 900 km to the northeast, in Alberta. A small population of this plant was found in July 1993 by the authors with Herb and Florence Wagner at the type locality for Botrychium ascendens, in the canyon of Hurricane Creek at 1570 m. The site is a mesic meadow on calcareous colluvium, with scattered Picea