Lemmon’s holly fern (Polystichum lemmonii) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Summary of Status Report

There is no specific legislation for the protection of rare and endangered vascular plants in British Columbia. The Conservation Data Centre has ranked this species as S1 and placed it on the British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Red list. This is the most critical category for imperiled rare native vascular plants in the province. A rank of S1 is considered “critically imperiled because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals) or because of some factors making it especially vulnerable to extirpation or extinction". Globally, Polystichum lemmonii is ranked G4 and is frequent to common in its range.

The population in the Baldy Mountain area is on public land but is not part of a protected area. It is conceivable that this area could qualify as an ecological reserve but this status has yet to be proposed.

Just over 850 plants are known from the site in the Baldy Mountain area of southcentral British Columbia. The prognosis for this species is not good since ultramafic rock outcrops often attract mineral exploration. These rock outcrops could also be of use as a quarry for road building materials.

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