This Botrychium was first named Osmunda lanceolatum by Gmelin in 1768 and was given its present name by Angstrom in 1854.  The plant grows from two to nine inches tall.  It is rare in Colorado and a number of other western states, but it is more abundant in north-eastern states.

"Lanceolatum", Latin, is for the lance-like structure of the pinnae. The pattern of the pinnae is triangular.