AN ILLUSTRATED KEY TO THE FERNS AND FERN ALLIES (PTERIDOPHYTA) OF ALBERTA Compiled and writen by Linda Kershaw & Lorna Allen April 2019 © Linda J. Kershaw & Lorna Allen This key was compiled using informaton primarily from Moss (1983), Packer & Gould (2018), Douglas et. al. (2000) and the Flora of North America (2008-2010). Taxonomy follows VASCAN (Brouillet, 2015). Please let us know if there are ways in which the key can be improved. The families are arranged systematcally. The 2017 S-ranks of rare species (S1; S1S2; S2; S2S3; SU, according to ACIMS, 2017) are noted in superscript (S1;S2;SU) afer the species names. For more details, go to the ACIMS web site. PTERIDOPHYTA Ferns & Fern Allies Key to Families 01a Leaves simple, stalkless, grass-like or scale-like, 1-2 mm wide ............................ 02 01b Leaves (fronds) usually lobed or divided, with stalks (stpes), variously shaped, ≥5 mm wide . 05 2a 02a Leaves onion-like, basal and slender with wide, sheathing bases, 5-15 cm long; stems thick, short and inconspicuous (covered by leaf bases); spore cases (sporangia) embedded in the upper/inner side of the leaf base . .Isoetaceae (p. 10) 02b Leaves scale-like, <1.5 cm long; stems slender and conspicuous; spore cases in cones (cone scales sometmes resembling leaves) or in the axils of stem leaves ............................. 03 03a Stems usually hollow, conspicuously jointed; leaves scale-like, in sheath-like rings (whorls) at 3a stem joints; spore cases on the underside of fat, round, umbrella-like scales in cones at stem tps . ....................... Equisetaceae (p. 11) 03b Stems solid, not jointed; leaves strap-like, spirally arranged or paired (opposite); spore cases in the 4a axils of triangular to strap-like cone scales or in leaf axils .................................... 04 04a Plants 5-25 cm tall; leaves mostly strap-like or awl- shaped, 5-10 mm long (triangular to lance-shaped and 2-4 mm long in Diphasiastrum); cones (when 4b present) cylindrical; spores all similar . ....................... Lycopodiaceae (p. 7) 04b Plants 1-5(7) cm tall; leaves lance-shaped, 1-4 mm long; cones usually ± 4-sided/angled; spores of 2 types (small and large) . Selaginellaceae (p. 9) 05a In colonies from spreading rootstocks in ponds and lake edges; leaves with 4 leafets at the tp of a long stalk (like a four-leaved clover), ofen foatng in water; spores in a hard, bean-like structures 5a (sporocarps) on a short stalk (ofen hidden among the leaves) .... Marsileaceae - Marsilea vestta 05b Plants and leaves not as above; spores in spore cases on green or modifed leaves . 06 6a 06a Spore cases 1-1.5 mm wide, in grape-like clusters on specialized, fertle leaves; sterile leaves below fertle blades on same stalk . .................... Ophioglossaceae (p. 13) 06b Spore cases tny (<1 mm wide), in dot-like clusters (sori) on the lower surface or along edges of green leaves or specialized fertle leaves . .[Ferns - Polypodiaceae of Moss, 1983] 07 7a 07a Leaves of 2 distnctly diferent types: green, without spore cases (sterile) and brown (when mature), with spore cases (fertle) . 08 07b Leaves all similar, not of 2 distnct types (except Pellaea gastonyi, with fertle leaves distnctly 7b longer than sterile leaves) ............... 09 4 08a Plants ≤20 cm tall, in small clumps, on rocky sites in the mountains or neAB (Canadian Shield); fertle leaves longer than sterile leaves . .Pteridaceae (in part) - Cryptogramma (p. 17) 08b Plants 50-150 cm tall, forming colonies from coarse rhizomes, on moist sites in the boreal forest; fertle leaves shorter than sterile leaves . Onocleaceae [Dryopteridaceae, in part] 8b . Mateuccia struthiopteris 8a 09a Spore clusters on the leaf edges, usually under down-rolled margins, elongated . 10 09b Spore clusters set in from the leaf edges (if near the edge, then round) ..................... 12 10a Spore clusters under down-rolled leaf edges, kidney shaped, separate (not in a contnuous strip); leaf segments fan-shaped . 10a . Pteridaceae (in part) (p. 17) . .Adiantum aleutcum [Adiantum pedatum] 10b Spore clusters in a contnuous strip along the leaf edge; leaf segments not fan-shaped . 11 11a 11a Plants 30-300 cm tall; leaves 2X pinnately divided, ± triangular, 20-60 cm wide . Dennstaedtaceae - Pteridium aquilinum 11b Plants mostly <30 cm tall; leaves 1-2X pinnately divided, <10 cm wide ....................... Pteridaceae (in part) Myriopteris; Pellaea (p. 17) 11b 12a Leaves 1X pinnately divided, lobed or smooth- 13a edged .................................. 13 12b Leaves 2-4X pinnately divided . 15 13a Leafets (pinnae) lobed, egg-shaped, 3-7 x 2-5 mm; leaves 5-10(15) cm long ..................... .Aspleniaceae - Asplenium viride . .[Asplenium trichomanes-ramosum] 13b Leafets smooth-edged or toothed, narrowly oblong to lance-shaped, >10 mm long; leaves (5)10-40 cm long ......................... 14 14a 14a Leafets rounded at the tp, smooth-edged (without spines) . Polypodiaceae (p. 16) 14b Leafets pointed at the tp, edged with spines . Dryopteridaceae (in part) (p. 21) ....................... Polystchum lonchits 15a Leaf stalks (1)1.5-2(3) tmes as long as the blades; leaves divided into 3 ± equal parts, with each of the 2 lowest leafets ≈ the remaining upper part of the leaf . Cystopteridaceae (p. 19) ......................... [Dryopteridaceae, in part] 15b Leaf stalks usually much <2 tmes the length of the blade; lowest pair of leafets gradually reduced upwards (not much larger than those above) . 16 14b 15a 5 16a Small tufed plants, mostly <20 cm tall; short- creeping scaly rhizomes bear small tufs to dense tussocks of leaves; lower leafets somewhat remote ................................. 17 16b Larger plants, generally >20 cm tall; plants tufed → or in small scatered tufs or single leaves; lower leafets not remote ....................... 18 17a Leaf stalk bases persistent afer blades are shed; 17b indusium disc- or star-shaped (→), atached under → and obscured by spore clusters . .Woodsiaceae 17a . [Dryopteridaceae, in part] - Woodsia (p. 20) 17b Leaf stalk bases disintegratng when blades are 18a shed; indusium hood-like (→), atached at the side and curved up over the spore clusters . .Cystopteridaceae [Dryopteridaceae, in part] ......................... Cystopteris (p. 19) 18a Lowest pair of leafets pointng downwards; lower leaf surface with conspicuous, nearly transparent hairs on the veins and midrib . .Thelypteridaceae - Phegopteris connectlis 18b Leaves not as above. 19 19a 19a Indusia ofen absent, when present elongated, fap-like (atached along 1 edge) and fringed or toothed . Athyriaceae (p. 18) - Athyrium 19b Indusia present (sometmes small and soon shrivelling) rounded or kidney-shaped, atached in the hollow of the inner side, not fringed . .. Dryopteridaceae (in part) (p. 21) - Dryopteris 19b 6 LYCOPODIACEAE Clubmoss Family Key to Genera 01a Stems clumped, without horizontal runners (rootstocks); spore clusters (sporangia) in the axils of unmodifed leaves scattered along the length of the stem, not in cones (strobili); spores pitted or grooved; tiny sexual plants (gemmae) often present among the upper leaves .......................Huperzia 01b Stems spread along horizontal runners; spore clusters in the axils of small, modifed, leaves (sporophylls) in cones (strobili); spores wrinkled or with net-like ridges; gemmae absent .............................02 02a Cones (strobili) erect, on stalks with closely 2a 1a spaced, normal-sized leaves; spores wrinkled; plants in wetlands ...Lycopodiella inundata ..............[Lycopodium inundatum] 02b Cones with or without stalks, the stalks (when present) with tiny, widely spaced leaves; spores with net-like ridges; plants mainly in dry uplands ............................03 03a Uppermost shoots (including leaves) 2-6 mm across, 4-sided to fattened (rounded in D. sitchense); leaves mostly in 4-5 vertical rows, overlapping (except in D. sitchense); cone 3a stalks (if present) branched in 2s .......... .......................Diphasiastrum 03b Uppermost shoots (including leaves) 5-12 mm across, rounded; leaves in ≥6 vertical rows (ranks), not overlapping; cone stalks (if present) alternately branched, appearing to have 1 main branch ..................04 4b 4a 04a Erect stems few to many branched, tree-like; trailing stems below ground .............. ....... Dendrolycopodium dendroideum ............ [Lycopodium dendroideum ...............Lycopodium obscurum] 04b Erect stems simple or few-branched; trailing stems above ground ......... Lycopodium 7 → DIPHASIASTRUM Groundcedar 01a Plants strongly fattened, (10)15-35 cm tall; cones on 1-8 cm stalks .................. ........... Diphasiastrum complanatum 2b ............[Lycopodium complanatum] 01b Plants cylindrical or 4-sided, 5-10(15) cm tall; cones without stalks (rarely with stalks ≤1 cm long) ..............................02 1a 2a 02a Leaves all ± the same shape; stems cylindrical ...... Diphasiastrum sitchense ............... [Lycopodium sitchense] 02b Leaves of 1 row different from the others, shaped like a bricklayer’s trowel (→); stems 4-sided ..........Diphasiastrum alpinum ................ [Lycopodium alpinum] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1a HUPERZIA Firmoss 01a Largest leaves lance-shaped and widest above mid-leaf; shoots 12-20 cm tall; mainly in shaded forests near streams ............. ...............Huperzia occidentalis S2 01b Largest leaves lance-shaped and widest below mid-leaf or with sides ± parallel; shoots mostly 8-15 cm tall; mainly on rocky cliffs and 2a talus slopes, sometimes