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Index / Search / Botrychium virginianum

§1 Plant

Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw.

vernacular rattlesnake fern — species · Ophioglossaceae

USDA
BOVI
GBIF
7917024
Rank
species
rattlesnake fern (Botrychium virginianum)
Platephotograph · Jen S source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Fern
Family
Ophioglossaceae Martinov
Genus
Botrychium
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 1,520 counties across 48 states/territories
Legend Native · 1520 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Low
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
85 min.
Precipitation
14–55 in/yr
pH range
5.6–6.9
Root depth
10 in min.
Fertility need
High
Soil texture
medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
1.4 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
None
Stratify
No
Propagation
bare root, sprigs
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
No Known Source
Nursery stock
No
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 1,520 counties across 48 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 40 N ▾
Alaska view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 69 N ▾
California view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 3 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 10 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 56 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 80 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 51 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 40 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 109 N ▾
Louisiana view state ↗ 37 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Maryland view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 66 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 29 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 80 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 25 N ▾
Nevada view state ↗ 1 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 20 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 1 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 61 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 65 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 58 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 10 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 2 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 24 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 91 N ▾
Texas view state ↗ 26 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 97 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 14 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 71 N ▾
Wyoming view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/BOVI ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/7917024 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z