Moonwort Madness: A Reply by Herb and Florence Wagner Fiddlehead Forum 25: 27, 1998.

Have you noticed the recent craze of "moonwort madness"? Perhaps you've found yourself caught up in this madness or perhaps like more "sane" individuals you have wondered why moonworts have captured the imagination of young, old, professional, and amateur alike. Or perhaps you've simply wondered...

Just what the heck is a moonwort anyway? Is it...

a. A fern found once in a blue moon.
b. A fern which comes and goes with the phases of the moon.
c. A mushroom that transforms into a fern when exposed to moonlight.
d. A pale fern which never sees the light of day.
e. A plant with moon-shaped leaves.

Okay, so these are all nonsense... or are they? Lets examine the options.

a. A fern found once in a blue moon.
Indeed some moonworts are very rare which no doubt contributes to their mystique. Much of the rareness can be attributed to their size. Moonworts are tiny ferns in the genus Botrychium subgenus Botrychium. Each year the plants have the ability to produce one above ground leaf which has 2 portions, a spore bearing portion and a photosynthetic portion. All plants in this subgenus are small (< 20 cm) and relatively difficult to find. Fortunately however, once the search image is learned it is possible to find many of these small ferns. Not all species are abundant and some are very rare and perhaps can only be found once in a blue moon.

b. A fern which comes and goes with the phases of the moon.
Not only are some species of moonworts rare, but their behavior is downright fickle. Some years they are abundant, in others they are not. Moonworts, like many orchids, have the ability to skip a year and not emerge to produce a leaf. Their disappearance in some years compounds the issue of rareness. It is common for individuals to skip years and subsequently re-emerge healthy and robust. No one has observed them "coming and going with the phases of the moon", but they have baffled biologists with their ability to annually skip years, then reappear.

c. A mushroom that transforms into a fern when exposed to moonlight.
How ridiculous you mutter to yourself. Ah, but not so! Botrychium have underground gametophytes which are not photosynthetic. They live longer than most fern gametophytes and contain mycorrhizal fungi. These mycorrhizae appear to be extremely important to Botrychium sporophytes too. Indeed the authors are convinced that the mycorrhizae are the primary source not only for water and minerals, but of sugars as well. This may account for many aspects of their bizarre behavior. So yeah, it doesn't take moonlight to transform these plants, but functionally these tiny ferns may be more mushroom than fern!

d. A pale fern which never sees the light of day.
One of the hardest things about finding moonworts is learning to look for them underneath the leaf litter. Only a small portion of the population actually emerges above the litter. Many more can be found by parting the litter and looking underneath. Some of those found underneath the litter may be extremely pale or even totally white. Albino moonworts? Yes! They are fairly common in some species. So if these ferns receive carbohydrates from the mycorrhizae and are buried in the leaf litter is it no wonder that they aren't always green and photosynthesizing.

e. A plant with moon shaped leaves.
Botrychium lunaria was named by Carl Linneaus for the pinnae which have a lunar-crescent shape. The common name, moonwort, comes from this species. However, not all moonwoorts have crescent-shaped pinnae. The shapes of the pinnae are extremely variable and often make identification of species very difficult. This difficulty of identification and the ever present possibility of a new species discovery is without doubt one factor which drives "moonwort madness".

So now that we know what moonworts are, we can proceed with the question at hand. What is it about these peculiar plants that causes "moonwort madness"? We asked ourselves and the answer is really quite simple. Cindy can't stand to see any Botrychium go unmarked. She's compelled to mark them with numbered aluminum tags to study their ecology. She's baffled by their disappearance and by their reappearance. Don likes to grind them up in a "moonwort soup" to study speciation through isozymes. His best recipes have included tetraploids, hybrids and a large dash of subtle variation.

But what's the true source of "moonwort madness"? It all began, so it appears, through the infectious energy and enthusiasm of Herb and Florence Wagner. They have succeeded in converting self-respecting professional and amateur pteridologists into crazed individuals who crawl across prairies, mountain meadows and woodlands in search of these elusive plants. But what is it about moonworts that initially captivated the Wagners' interest? Herb and Florence, what can you tell us about "moonwort madness"? What captivates you?

Not long ago hunting for Botrychium was lonely and perhaps considered eccentric despite the Wagners' interest along with that of their disciples. In recent years however "moonwort madness" seems to have swept across the country. Herds of volunteers now routinely can be seen grazing across the landscape on hands and knees in search of these mysterious ferns. Everyone from forest service personnel to rare plant enthusiasts search endlessly for these tiny gems.

Still, we can't help but wonder if there is something we haven't thought of about moonworts that captures the attention of so many people? Are moonworts different from any other rare plants? We've heard a few reasons, the desire to find something rare, the ability to contribute when so little is known and even the choice company of other moonwort hunters. So what is the cause of this recent epidemic of "moonwort madness"? Why do YOU hunt for moonworts?

During 1942-1946, Herb was flying in the navy and won the Second World War (or so Florence was led to believe after listening to his stories) all the while thinking about those intriguing moonworts. He would dream of hunting these little weirdoes even while he flew over the oceans at night in the light of the full moon. He never thought of himself as being loony (flying over the Atlantic Ocean hunting for submarines to torpedo — what could be crazier?) While his navy buddies dreamed of going home and starting a quiet chicken farm, Herb thought only of going back to find moonworts. However, this was not to be for when he returned stateside — no moonworts. He spent four years at the University of California Berkeley getting his Ph.D. and one-year at Harvard doing a postdoc. (Little did he know that a sleek beauty also studying botany at Berkeley would become his soul mate and faithful partner in Botrychiology.)

It was not until 1951 that Herb and Florence came to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 1952 and again in 1954, they went to the U. of Michigan Biological Station at Douglas Lake where they came to discover new and exciting moonworts. They clarified the differences between the common moonwort and the mingan moonwort, and they encountered the goblin moonwort for the first time. Then for many years, they taught pteridology at other biological stations, where they spread the disease known as "moonwort madness." The epidemiology of the disease is well known. Students contracted the virus (for which there is no known vaccine) at the U. of Virginia, Mountain Lake in 1962, '64, '70, '72, '74 and '82; at the U. of Minnesota, Lake Itasca in 1973, '75 and '79; and at the U. of Montana, Flathead Lake in 1976, '78, and '80. At first our poor students could not figure us out as we crawled around on the ground, parting the forbs and grasses, and shouting, "I found one!" Nevertheless we eased the infection by awarding an 'A' for the day to each student who found a moonwort. The students began showing an interest, and before long they too became victims of the mania: eyes directed forward and downward, jaws tightly pressed together in concentration, expecting anything (and most of the time finding nothing). In spite of their heroic efforts, the students who could not find moonworts had to resort to heavy drinking and taking drugs. Those who developed full symptoms of "moonwort madness" began returning to the field repeatedly on their own!

Eventually we came to a point where we could either consult a psychiatrist or go to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for aid. We chose the latter and were awarded a grant for monographic studies starting in 1979. The results of this program are now widely recognized. We had inherited a mixed up taxonomy. Clausen's 1938 monograph was way out of date. Fernald's 1950 treatment for the eastern U.S. was full of "forms" and "varieties" each of which needed to be examined. Some proved to be merely trivial variants not worthy of recognition, some proved to be true varieties, and some even proved to be good species. Our goal was to control our mania by producing a robust taxonomy that truly represented the real diversity. With aid from NSF we were able to explore many marvelous localities; first in the Lake Superior Region and later in the western U.S. and Canada, and we soon realized that the situation in moonworts was far more complicated than we had ever dreamed.

We began to find new species. (There were only nine species previously recognized.) Our first discoveries were published in 1981 and we continue to find and publish new species. We predict that by 2000, with the help of our fellow moonwort maniacs, we will recognize 26 additional species previously unknown to science. Moreover, we are also discovering interspecific hybrids, some of them quite extraordinary (e.g., the Waterton Lakes hybrid moonwort).

We have widely expanded the range of characteristics known among these plants. Florence has investigated the chromosomes of most of the now known species. Chromosome counts for moonworts vary from some with 2n=90 to some with 2n=180, and even some with 2n=270 (the latter is the very rare false northwestern moonwort). Don Farrar has examined the enzymes of moonworts, and finds many fascinating correlation'" between species. Some of the other new and unusual characters are illustrated by the pumice moonwort (spores released not singly but in tetrads), the pale moonwort (strongly developed epicuticular wax), the triangle moonwort (albino forms), prairie moonwort (tiny vegetative gemmae, discovered by Don Farrar), and the goblin moonwort (partially sunken, weakly opening spore cases and other peculiarities studied by Cindy Johnson-Groh).

Moonwort Madness may be regarded by some psychiatrists as the ultimate in lunacy. Nevertheless each year we learn about new patients who have been diagnosed as having the disease. Out of over a hundred that I know about, I can mention here only a few: Ed Alverson, Kathy Ahlenslager, Timothy Devine, Don and Joyce Dreif, Art Gilman, Stewart Garrett, Kirk Larson, Peter Lesica, Karen Myrhre, Bob Preston, Kiri Yanskey, Tara Williams, and Peter Zika. Among the many victims, I know of individuals from at least 15 states and 5 provinces who have developed a compulsion to botrychulate.

You can see why "moonwort madness" is on the increase. As we all know now, it has been spreading widely over the past decade, and the Center for Disease Control has taken notice. Where will it all end? Once hooked, the victims can't stop. Moonstruck by these impertinent little fern allies, the mad victims are exhilarated when each spring comes and they can start exploring again the wonderful world of plants and these elusive botanical gems. To answer your question, Cindy, of what captivates us? What captivates you?

1. The scientific reason. New species and new biological insights are being added to our world of botanical knowledge.

2. The conservation reason. Many moonworts are extremely rare and potentially threatened or endangered. (In fact, the related Hawaiian grapefem is now apparently extinct.)

3. The natural beauty reason. The plants have intriguing and subtle shapes. The habitats are fascinating to explore snowfields, prairies, woodlands and swamps, roadsides, weedy fields, mine spoils and meadows.

4. The surprise reason. We can never predict when or where a moonwort may be found. Discovery is always a thrill, a surprise. Hunting moonworts is a true treasure hunt.

"Moonwort madness" is one disease of which we hope you will get a good case. You will have fun! Botrychium ûber alles! Vive les plantes à la lune!