Cystopteris montana

Cystopteris montana
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Dryopteridales
Family:	Dryopteridaceae
Genus:	Cystopteris
Species:	C. montana
Binomial name
Cystopteris montana (Lam.) Bernh. ex Desv.

Cystopteris 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.^[1]

This fern produces a creeping, cordlike, scaly stem. The leaves are up to 45 centimeters long. The blades are borne on a petiole with a dark base and a light-colored end. The petiole is longer than the blade. The blade is pentagonal in shape and divided into leaflets which are subdivided into many lobed and toothed segments. The sori are covered in hairy, whitish, cup-shaped indusia.^[1][2]

This fern grows in moist mountain habitat, such as forests near streams.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Cystopteris montana. Flora of North America.
2. ^ Cystopteris montana. The Nature Conservancy.
3. ^ Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Cystopteris montana. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.

External links

• USDA Plants Profile
• CalPhotos Photo Gallery