State-Listed Pteridophytes in Rhode Island

These are the lycophytes, ferns and fern allies that are officially listed as rare by the State of Rhode Island. The information is taken from the Rhode Island Natural Heritage Program's Rare Native Plants of Rhode Island.

Status

(FE) Federally Endangered. (1 RI species currently listed)

(FT) Federally Threatened. (2 RI species currently listed)

(SE) State Endangered. Native taxa in imminent danger of extirpation from Rhode Island. These taxa may meet one or more of the following criteria:

• 1. A taxon formerly considered by the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service for listing as Federally endangered or threatened. These species were identified as C2 (Category 2) taxa for which information indicated that proposing to list under the Federal Endangered Species Act was potentially appropriate, but for which sufficient data on biological vulnerability and threat were not currently available to support proposed rules. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is currently not designating Category 2 species.
• 2. A taxon with 1 or 2 known or estimated total populations in the state.
• 3. A taxon apparently globally rare or threatened, estimated to occur at approximately 100 or fewer sites range-wide. Plants listed as State Endangered are protected under the provisions of the Rhode Island State Endangered Species Act, Title 20 of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island. This law states, in part (20-37-3): "No person shall buy, sell, offer for sale, store, transport, import, export, or otherwise traffic in any animal or plant or any part of any animal or plant whether living or dead, processed, manufactured, preserved or raw (if) such animal or plant has been declared to be an endangered species by either the United States secretaries of the Interior or Commerce or the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management."

(ST) State Threatened. Native taxa which are likely to become State Endangered in the future if current trends in habitat loss or other detrimental factors remain unchanged. In general, these taxa have 3-5 known or estimated populations and are especially vulnerable to habitat loss.

(C) Concern. Native taxa not considered to be State Endangered or Threatened at the present time, but are listed due to various factors of rarity and/or vulnerability.

(SH) State Historical. Native taxa which have been documented for Rhode Island during the last 150 years but for which there are no extant populations. When known, the year of last documented occurrence is included.

Note on Status Designation:

For most listed plants the definitions outlined above have been adhered to when assigning status. In some cases, especially for those species which have not received intensive field inventory, the "Concern" category is assigned even if only 1-2 populations are known to be extant. These species are targeted for additional inventory and may be assigned to other categories when their actual status in Rhode Island has been clarified. Taxa so-defined are designated with an asterisk (*).

LGlobal Rank

Each taxon has been assigned a “global rank” that reflects its rarity and vulnerability to extinction throughout the world. Global ranks were originally derived by The Nature Conservancy and are used by all Natural Heritage Programs as a standardized method of determining the status of each taxon throughout its range. These ranks are defined as follows:

G1 = Critically imperiled throughout its range due to extreme rarity (5 or fewer sites or very few remaining individuals) or extremely vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors.

G2 = Imperiled throughout its range due to rarity (6-20 sites or few remaining individuals) or highly vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors.

G3 = Either very rare and local throughout its range (21-100 sites), with a restricted range (but possibly locally abundant), or vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors.

G4 = Apparently secure throughout its range (but possibly rare in parts).

G5 = Demonstrably secure throughout its range (but possibly rare in parts).

GH = No extant sites known, but may be rediscovered.

GX = Believed to be extinct.

T = Appended to a G rank to indicate status of a subspecies or variety

Double Ranks (e.g., G2G3): The first rank indicates rarity based on current documentation. The second rank indicates the probable rarity after all historical records and potential habitats have been surveyed. Denotes taxa needing additional survey to assign global status.

NEPCoP Status Designation

NEPCoP Status Designation indicates the taxon is cited in Flora Conservanda: New England. The New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP) List of Plants in Need of Conservation. Taxa included in this publication are assigned to one of 5 Divisions based on the following definitions:

Div 1: Globally rare taxa occurring in New England. Taxa in this division have been ranked as globally rare (G1 through G3, or T1 through T3) under criteria described above.

Div 2: Regionally rare taxa with fewer than 20 current occurrences within New England.

Div 3: Locally rare taxa that may be common in part of New England, but have one or more occurrences of biological, ecological, or possible genetic significance.

Div 4: Historic taxa that once existed in New England, but have not been seen since 1970.

IND: Indeterminate taxa under review for inclusion in one of the above divisions, but issues of taxonomy, nomenclature, or status in the wild are not clearly understood.

County of Occurrence

Each county is designated by the first two letters of its name as follows:

• PR = Providence
• BR = Bristol
• KE = Kent
• NE = Newport
• WA = Washington
• BI = Block Island (actually part of Washington County)

Counties are identified for extant populations only, except in the case of Historic species in which the last county of occurrence is given.

* means believed extirpated

Species	Common Name	Status
True Ferns
SC	Asplenium montanum	mountain spleenwort
T	Asplenium ruta-muraria	wallrue spleenwort
E	Cheilanthes lanosa	hairy lip-fern
E	Cryptogramma stelleri	slender cliff-brake
E	Diplazium pycnocarpon	narrow-leaved glade fern
E	Dryopteris campyloptera	mountain wood-fern
SC	Dryopteris goldiana	Goldie's fern
SC	Lygodium palmatum	climbing fern
E	Pellaea glabella	smooth cliff-brake
SC	Trichomanes intricatum	Appalachian gametophyte
Fern Allies
SC	*Equisetum palustre	marsh horsetail
E	Equisetum pratense	meadow horsetail
E	Equisetum scirpoides	dwarf scouring rush
T	Ophioglossum pusillum	adder's-tongue
SC	*Botrychium simplex	little grape fern
Lycophytes
SC	*Huperzia selago	fir clubmoss
E	Lycopodiella alopecuroides	foxtail clubmoss