Cystopteris fragilis
Brittle Bladderfern

Family: Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)

Photo taken at Leavenworth Fish Hatchery; dry, openly wooded, rocky hillside

Sori:

each borne on a veinlet which continues to margin; indusium hyaline, basiscopic, and more or less hood-like

Leaves:

leaf blade at least twice as long as wide, 10-24 cm long, 5-9 cm wide; leaf generally greater than its' petiole, 2-4 times pinnate, with free venation; petiole slender, scaly only at base

Plant:

20-30 cm tall

Habitat:

moist to moderately dry areas, often in rocky places; lowland to above timberline

Distribution of species:

widespread in the North Hemisphere, and common throughout the northwest

Distribution of genus:

more or less 10 species: generally temperate areas of the world