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

© Adolf Ceska  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #5554)

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Distribution of Woodsia scopulina
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Species Information

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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

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)

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.

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 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: 2024-05-21 2:50:33 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.
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