taylor_justason's Favorites

Gametophytes, previously reported from this stump. Far smaller than I realized!

Step 1: Consult the iNat app from Port Alberni to confirm the location in a last-second plan before driving to Kennedy Lake.
Step 2: Walk the access road, find a small trail in the right area, and walk until my location dot on the iNat map matches the middle of the cluster of sightings.
Step 3: Spend at least 10 minutes searching the nearby forest for a stump matching the ones in the photos.
Step 4: After finding the right stump, spend another solid 10 minutes in miniature world searching the stump for the ferns, including going back to the photos several times for every clue I could find!

I thought I was looking for something larger, but the biggest ones were only about 2mm in size. Even more fun than Botrychium searches ;-) And I must say, I only saw them through the iPhone lens/screen, as they were too small to really see unassisted.

Now that I've seen them once (with all this tech help), hopefully I can find more!

Until last November, I didn't know anything about Phantom orchids, let alone that they grow near me! I have been eagerly waiting to see them in bloom since then, and it's been amazing! We've seen close to 40 flowers in this area. I'm trying to ensure that they are protected as much as possible as this seems to be an area that was not known previously. The general area, yes, but not this exact location. There will be more development happening nearby, so I'll be advocating for them, to make sure they continue to grow and flourish as they are now.

Ultramafic outcrop near treeline
31726 VT, WTU
near plants of Polystichum lonchitis, P. lemmonii, P. kruckebergii
David Barrington (VT) writes 8 Jan 2024:
So, to get the crux of the matter your numbers 31726 and 31733 are confirmed as hybrids given on my study of the spores... 31726 also has irregular spores, but not many. So many of the sporangia remain unopened, though fully mature, and largely without contents except for what I Take to be a negligible amount of orphaned perispore clinging to the inside wall of the sporangium
These two do fall between the collections you sent of Polystichum lonchitis and P. kruckebergii morphologically. The character I found most useful was the ratio of the length to the maximum width for the medial pinnae—roughly 1:1 in P. lemmonii, 3:1 in P. lonchitis, and (though more variable) around 2:1 in P. kruckebergii. The two hybrids come in around 3:2.

Ultramafic outcrop near treeline, 31728 VT
David Barrington (VT) writes 8 Jan 2024: The character I found most useful was the ratio of the length to the maximum width for the medial pinnae—roughly 1:1 in P. lemmonii, 3:1 in P. lonchitis, and (though more variable) around 2:1 in P. kruckebergii. The two hybrids [31726, 31733] come in around 3:2.