Cystopteris fragilis (L.) Bernh.
fragile fern (brittle bladderfern)
Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
fragile fern (brittle bladderfern)
Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Deciduous perennial arising in clusters from a short, creeping rhizome.
Leaves:
Thin, broadly lanceolate or egg-shaped, 5-45 cm long, 3-10 cm wide, smooth, seldom finely glandular, 2- to 3-pinnate, ultimate segments fan-like, toothed towards the tips.
Notes:
A variable species, which in this concept includes both plants with spiny spores (C. fragilis sensu stricto) and those with warty spores. Plants with warty spores were segregated in Europe as C. dickieana. Ceska & Ceska (unpubl.) found that our populations with warty spores are not uniform in other characters and agree with C. Haufler that "some of the American material ... may not be conspecific with material from the type locality of C. dickieana." (Lellinger 1985, p. 260).
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Cystopteris fragilis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1051 | 0 | 2562 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
40 | 0 | 140 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
194 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
409 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ICH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(17), BAFA(3), BG(2), BWBS(5), CWH(73), ESSF(72), ICH(91), IDF(59), MH(5), MS(23), PP(12), SBPS(1), SBS(23), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to moist rocks, talus slopes, crevices, ledges, and forest margins from the lowland and steppe to alpine zones; common throughout BC; cosmopolitan, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF, and S to ME, NH, PA, NC, IL, KS, NM, AZ and CA; Eurasia, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, S America, Antarctic Islands.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Cystopteris dickieana Sim
Cystopteris fragilis subsp. dickieana (Sim) Hyl.
Cystopteris fragilis var. angustata G. Lawson
Cystopteris fragilis var. huteri (Hausman) Luerss.
Cystopteris fragilis var. laurentiana Weath.
Cystopteris fragilis var. simulans (Weath.) McGregor
Cystopteris fragilis var. tennesseensis (Shaver) McGregor
Cystopteris fragilis var. tenuifolia (Clute) Broun
Cystopteris fragilis var. woodsioides Christ
Filix fragilis (L.) Underw.