E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Woodsia scopulina D.C. Eaton
mountain cliff fern (Rocky Mountain woodsia)
Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Woodsia scopulina
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Woodsia scopulina ssp. laurentiana
Woodsia scopulina ssp. scopulina

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Deciduous perennial in large clusters arising from a short rhizome.

Leaves:
Broadly lanceolate, 8-35 cm long, 2-7 cm wide with non-jointed stipes and 2-pinnate blades; rachis and segments with multicellular glandular and non-glandular hairs.

Notes:
Two subspecies are reported from BC by Windham (1993b) but the differences are minor and few botanists would be able to separate the ssp. scopulina from ssp. laurentiana in the field.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry to mesic rocky crevices and scree slopes, from the lowland and steppe to subalpine zones; frequent in W BC and in SC BC, mostly south of 55degreeN; N to AK and YT, E to PQ and S to SD, WY, CO, NM, AZ and CA, disjunct in VA, TN and AR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Woodsia scopulina

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	230	982	2354
Slope Gradient (%)	0	51	160
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	0	193	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	1	5
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	B
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	333
Modal BEC Zone Class	IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	AT(1), BAFA(1), BG(17), CWH(3), ESSF(19), ICH(73), IDF(98), MS(48), PP(56), SBPS(2), SBS(7), SWB(2)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Woodsia scopulina ssp. laurentiana	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed
Woodsia scopulina ssp. scopulina	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Woodsia scopulina var. scopulina

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Dryopteridaceae
Flora North America treatment for Woodsia scopulina
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-11-21 11:04:24 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.