Ferns🌿 Native to the NetherlandsVery hardy — tolerates frost down to -25°C

Moonwort

Name: Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria)
Brand: HSMN Planten
SKU: 6a8b54645e18c5d0b30524c2

Botrychium lunaria

Not available

Choose a size

Not available

Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria) is a small, native fern ally with usually a single aerial leaf. This consists of a sterile part with crescent-shaped segments and a separate, branched fertile spore spike. The plant appears in spring and may disappear above ground by summer.

Specific care needed

Due to its dependence on specific soil fungi, this species is very difficult to cultivate. Only use demonstrably responsibly grown material. Keep vegetation low and nutrient-poor, and do not use fertilizers, compost, or pesticides.

Year calendar

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Pruning period

Do not prune or transplant. Protect the habitat from trampling and soil disturbance.

Botanical profile

Site & soil

Sun, Half shade

Soil type: Sand, Loam

Moisture need: Moderately moist, Moist

pH: Slightly acidic (5.5–6.5), Neutral (6.5–7.5), Chalky (>7.5)

Nutrient richness: Very nutrient-poor, Nutrient-poor

Humus content: Humus-poor, Moderately humus-rich

Water drainage: Well draining, Moisture-retentive

Appearance & season

Mature height: 5-25cm

Bloom: Niet van toepassing

Autumn colour: The above-ground plant usually dies back before autumn.

Properties

Salt sensitive: Yes

Edible: No

Do not consume or collect from the wild.

Scent: No distinctive scent. The small plant has barely any perceptible fragrance.

Creeping rhizome: No

Ecological value

The species forms a specialized underground network with mycorrhizal fungi and microorganisms, making it part of a complex soil food web that is barely visible to the casual observer.

Food web & Biodiversity

🐛 Caterpillars & mothsUseful

🐝 Bees & bumblebeesLimited

🪰 HoverfliesUseful

🦋 ButterfliesUseful

🪲 Beetles & insectsUseful

🐦 BirdsUseful

🐿️ MammalsUseful

🐞 Other animalsVery useful

The direct food value of the small aerial leaf is limited. The most important ecological relationship is its dependence on soil fungi and other microorganisms. The habitat where Moonwort grows, however, is usually highly valuable for insects and other animals of poor, unimproved grasslands.

Distribution in the Netherlands