''Cystopteris montana'', previously classified as '' Athyrium montanum'', is a species of

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 ...

known by the common name mountain bladderfern. It occurs throughout the high

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

s of the Northern Hemisphere, in Eurasia,

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and around Canada. It is also present in the higher

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

s in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

further south.''Cystopteris montana''.
Flora of North America. This fern produces a creeping, cordlike, scaly stem. The leaves are up to 45 centimeters long. The blades are borne on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

with a dark base and a light-colored end. The petiole is longer than the blade. The blade is

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

al 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.''Cystopteris montana''.
The Nature Conservancy. This fern grows in moist mountain habitat, such as forests near streams.Williams, Tara Y. 1990

In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.

References

External links

CalPhotos Photo Gallery

montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Ferns of Asia Ferns of Europe Ferns of the Americas Ferns of Canada Ferns of the United States Flora of the Northern United States Flora of Alaska Flora of Greenland {{Polypodiales-stub