''Cystopteris bulbifera'', with the common name bulblet fern, bulblet bladderfern, or bulblet fragile fern is a

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

in the family

Cystopteridaceae Cystopteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae of the order Polypodiales, and includes three genera. Alt ...

Distribution

The fern is native to

eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

, the Midwestern and

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

, and two disjunct populations in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. It is found only on calcareous substrates such as

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. It commonly festoons limestone

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

openings. While most commonly found on vertical rock faces, it also grows in rocky

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

Description

''Cystopteris bulbifera'' is a low-growing rock

with creeping stems and narrow elongate deltate

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s which grow to 75 cm (30 in). ''C. bulbifera'' is unusual among ferns in producing bulblets along the bottom of the fronds. This is one of the easiest ''Cystopteris'' species to identify.

Hybrids

This species is known to hybridize with ''

Cystopteris fragilis ''Cystopteris fragilis'' is a species of perennial fern known by the common names brittle bladder-fern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. Description It has a short, black rootstock. The leaves ...

'', ''

Cystopteris protrusa ''Cystopteris protrusa'' is a common fern of North America, commonly known as the lowland bladderfern, lowland brittle fern or lowland fragile fern. The plant is native to eastern Canada, and the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Throughout ...

'', ''Cystopteris reevesiana'', and ''

Cystopteris tenuis ''Cystopteris 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'' ( L.) Bernh. var. ''mackayi'' Lawson. left, ' ...

''. Hybrids with ''C. fragilis'' have given rise to the allohexaploid species ''Cystopteris laurentiana''. Hybrids with ''Cystopteris protrusa'' have given rise to the allotetraploid species ''Cystopteris tennesseensis''. The hybrid with ''C. reevesiana'' has given rise to the allotetraploid species ''

Cystopteris utahensis ''Cystopteris utahensis'', commonly called the Utah bladderfern is a rare species of fern found in canyons and on sheltered cliff faces with calcareous rocks. It mainly grows on the Colorado Plateau in the western United States, but is also found ...

''. The hybrid with ''C. tenuis'' is known as ''C. × illinoensis'', an allotriploid. Also see

Cystopteris hybrid complex ''Cystopteris'' is a genus of ferns in the family Cystopteridaceae. These are known generally as bladderferns or fragile ferns. They grow in temperate areas worldwide. This is a very diverse genus and within a species individuals can look quite ...

References

External links

Flora of North America: ''Cystopteris bulbifera''
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distribution mapUSDA Plants Profile for ''Cystopteris bulbifera''
bulbifera Ferns of Canada Ferns of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Polypodiales-stub

Distribution

Description

Hybrids

References

Further reading

External links