Cystopteris
Encyclopedia
Cystopteris is a genus of fern
s. These are known generally as bladderferns or fragile ferns. They are found in temperate areas worldwide. This is a very diverse genus and within a species individuals can look quite different, especially in harsh environments where they experience stress and remain small and stunted. Also, they hybridize
easily with each other. Identifying an individual can be challenging. In general these are rhizomatous
perennials which may grow in rocky areas or in soil. Their leaves are multiply pinnate, in that each leaflet is divided into smaller parts. The sori
are usually rounded and are covered in an inflated bladder-like indusium.
Species include:
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s. These are known generally as bladderferns or fragile ferns. They are found in temperate areas worldwide. This is a very diverse genus and within a species individuals can look quite different, especially in harsh environments where they experience stress and remain small and stunted. Also, they hybridize
Cystopteris hybrid complex
-North American Cystopteris Hybrids:The diploid parent species within the genus include:*C. bulbifera*C. "hemifragilis" *C. protrusa*C. reevesianaThe hybrid species include:...
easily with each other. Identifying an individual can be challenging. In general these are rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennials which may grow in rocky areas or in soil. Their leaves are multiply pinnate, in that each leaflet is divided into smaller parts. The sori
Sorus
A sorus is a cluster of sporangia .In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....
are usually rounded and are covered in an inflated bladder-like indusium.
Species include:
- Cystopteris alpinaCystopteris alpinaCystopteris alpina is a fern in the family Cystopteridaceae. It is closely related to C. fragilis and has been treated as conspecific with that species by many authors. It is known to hybridise with C. fragilis in Scandinavia and intermediate plants possibly of hybrid origin are known from North...
- Cystopteris bulbiferaCystopteris bulbiferaCystopteris bulbifera ' is a low-growing rock fern with creeping stems and narrow elongate deltate fronds which grow to 75 cm , native to eastern North America with two disjunct populations in the west. It is found only on calcareous substrates such as limestone. It commonly festoons limestone cave...
- bulblet fern - Cystopteris diaphanaCystopteris diaphanaDiaphanous Bladder-fern Cystopteris diaphana Blasdell is a fern in the family Cystopteridaceae.-Status in Britain:The species was found for the first time in Britain in February 2000 on the banks of the River Camel in Cornwall . )...
- Cystopteris dickieanaCystopteris dickieanaCystopteris dickieana commonly known as Dickie's Bladder-fern is a fern with a wide distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. There is debate amongst botanists as to whether it is a species in its own right or a variant of C. fragilis....
- Dickie's bladderfern - Cystopteris douglasii - Douglas' bladderfern
- Cystopteris fragilisCystopteris fragilisCystopteris fragilis is a species of fern known by the common names brittle bladderfern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. The leaves are up to 30 or 40 centimeters long and are borne on fleshy petioles. Each leaf is divided into many pairs of...
- brittle bladderfern - Cystopteris laurentiana - St. Lawrence bladderfern
- Cystopteris montanaCystopteris montanaCystopteris montana is a species of fern known by the common name mountain bladderfern. It occurs throughout the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, in Eurasia, Greenland, and Alaska, and throughout Canada. It is also present in the higher elevations in Colorado farther south.This fern...
- mountain bladderfern - Cystopteris protrusaCystopteris protrusaCystopteris protrusa is a common fern of eastern North America. Throughout much of its range, it is the most common Cystopteris. It is commonly known as the lowland brittle fern or lowland fragile fern...
- lowland bladderfern - Cystopteris reevesiana - Reeves' bladderfern
- Cystopteris tennesseensis - Tennessee bladderfern
- Cystopteris tenuisCystopteris tenuisCystopteris tenuis is sometimes known as Mackay's bladder fern or Mackay's fragile fern. It was long considered to be a part of the superspecies for fragile ferns, as Cystopteris fragilis Bernh. var. mackayi Lawson....
- upland brittle fern - Cystopteris utahensis - Utah bladderfern