Coptis asplenifolia – fern-leaved goldthread
Common Name
fern-leaved goldthread
Alternate Common Names
- spleenwort-leaved goldthread
Family
Ranunculaceae
Scientific Name
Coptis asplenifolia
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
- Medium (M)
- Wet (W)
Soil Nutrient Regime (SNR)
- Poor (P)
- Medium (M)
Video link
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual © 1973. Reprinted with permission of the University of Washington Press.
Photo Gallery
General / Habitat
- Small perennial
- Moist forests and bogs
- Low to middle elevations
- More common in the northern half of B.C.
Key Identifying Characteristics
- Form: Evergreen, 10-30 cm tall, golden-yellow rhizomes
- Leaves: All basal, fern-like, with 5 or more dark, shiny, toothed leaflets
- Flowers: Pale green, sepals 5-6 and flared back, petals 5-6, long and strap-shaped, 2-3 borne on a leafless flowering stalk taller than the leaves
- Fruit: Follicles on long stalk, upright and spreading when ripe, opening to reveal 5-10 seeds, adapted for splash-cup dispersal
Lookalikes
- Cut-leaved goldthread (Coptis laciniata) is more common south of the B.C. border, but only has 3 deeply lobed leaflets and flowering stalks shorter than the leaves
- Three-leaved goldthread (Coptis trifolia) is less common in our region and only has 3 scarcely lobed leaflets and solitary flowers
Interesting Characteristics
- Common names come from the bright yellow rhizomes
- Important food for deer
External References
Sources
Douglas, G.W. et al (Editors). 1998-2002. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Volumes 1 to 8. B.C. Min. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Min. For., Victoria, B.C.
Pojar, J. and A. MacKinnon. 2014. Plants of Coastal British Columbia Including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. B.C. Ministry of Forestry and Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, B.C.