Botrychium

Botrychium is a genus of ferns, seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae. Botrychium species are known as moonworts. They are small, with fleshy roots, and reproduce by spores shed into the air. One part of the leaf, the trophophore, is sterile and fernlike; the other, the sporophore, is fertile and carries the clusters of sporangia or spore cases. Some species only occasionally emerge above ground and gain most of their nourishment from an association with mycorrhizal fungi.

==Taxonomy== The Smith et al. classification of 2006, based on molecular phylogeny, placed Botrychium in Ophioglossaceae. Subsequent classifications have maintained this placement. Circumscriptions of the genus vary. The Christenhusz and Chase classification of 2014 recognizes a broadly circumscribed Botrychium. This circumscription corresponds to subfamily Botrychioideae in the PPG I classification, which recognizes Botrypus, Japanobotrychum, and Sceptridium as separate genera.