Botrypus virginianus(L.) Michx.

rattlesnake fern

WFO wfo-0001118479 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h

Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Jeff Clark
fig. a Jeff Clark, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-12 / obs. 205626830
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Bruce Slater
fig. b Bruce Slater, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204216747
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Bruce Cook
fig. c Bruce Cook, CC0 1.0 / obs. 201671980
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Micki Colbeck
fig. d Micki Colbeck, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200582740
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Violet T.
fig. e Violet T., CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200810200
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Sarah Culliton
fig. f Sarah Culliton, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201734616
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Clay Gibbons
fig. g Clay Gibbons, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201758941
Botrypus virginianus, photographed by Lynn Harper
fig. h Lynn Harper, CC0 1.0 / obs. 200289358

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Also published as 38 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Botrychium anthemoides C.Presl
  • Botrychium brachystachys Kunze
  • Botrychium charcoviense Portenschl.; Pr.
  • Botrychium cicutarium (Savigny) Sw.
  • Botrychium dichronum Underw.
  • Botrychium gracile Pursh
  • Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw.
  • Botrychium virginianum f. europaeum (Ångstr.) Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum f. gracile (Pursh) Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum f. intermedium (Butters) Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum f. laurentianum (Butters) Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum subsp. europaeum (Ångstr.) R.T.Clausen
  • Botrychium virginianum subsp. europaeum (Ångstr.) Jav.
  • Botrychium virginianum subsp. meridionale (Butters) R.T.Clausen
  • Botrychium virginianum var. americanum Hook.
  • Botrychium virginianum var. cicutarium Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum var. dichronum Clute
  • Botrychium virginianum var. europaeum Ångstr.
  • Botrychium virginianum var. intermedium Butters
  • Botrychium virginianum var. laurentianum Butters
  • Botrychium virginianum var. meridionale Butters
  • Botrychium virginianum var. mexicanum Grev. & Hook.
  • Botrychium virginianum var. occidentale Butters
  • Botrychium virginicum Willd.

and 14 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice, no toxicity claim and no native range, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.