BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Isoetes nuttallii
Nuttall's quillwort
| Scientific Name: | Isoetes nuttallii A. Braun ex Engelm. | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Nuttall's quillwort | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | ISOENUT | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Jan 2025) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3S4 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 3 - Sensitive (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - occasional use
Forest / Garry Oak Woodland / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Garry Oak Maritime Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Other Unique Habitats / Garry Oak Vernal Pool / Facultative - frequent use Other Unique Habitats / Vernal Pools/Seasonal Seeps / Facultative - frequent use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Facultative - frequent use Stream/River / Stream/River / Facultative - occasional use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species occurs in temporary streams and seasonally wet soil, at elevations ranging from about 0 to 1,500 meters (Taylor et al., 2020). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: | |||||||||||
| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Isoetes nuttallii is native to the western United States and Canada from Vancouver Island south to southern California. A single specimen from Alaska collected in 1939 is likely misidentified. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, CPNWH 2025, iNaturalist 2025, OSU 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Johnson, J. (2025) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jan 14, 2025 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria (CPNWH). 2025. Online database of vascular plant specimens from the Pacific Northwest. Online. Available: http://www.pnwherbaria.org/index.php (accessed 2025). |
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Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp. |
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Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 2000. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 5, Dicotyledons (Salicaceae through Zygophyllaceae) and Pteridophytes. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Minist. For., Victoria. 389pp. |
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Roemer, Hans. 2003. Rare plant monitoring at Mill Hill Regional Park. A project carried out for Capital Regional District Parks. Roemer Field Botany Consulting. 19pp.+ photos and map. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2025. Species Summary: Isoetes nuttallii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 8, 2026).