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Brittle bladder fern
Cystopteris fragilis
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Brittle bladder fern is a small, delicate fern widespread across the northern hemisphere. It often grows in tufts on shaded rocks, cliffs and old stonework. You’ll usually spot it as a light, airy fern only a few centimetres tall.
Did you know?
- Like all ferns, it has no flowers; it spreads by tiny spores formed on the leaf undersides.
- It can grow from hairline cracks in rock and even old stone walls and bridges.
About the species
Identification
Small tufted fern, about 5–25 cm tall, from a short dark underground stem. Leaves are thin and smooth, narrow in outline, on a brown stalk about one‑third to two‑thirds of the leaf length, sometimes with a few tiny brown flakes. Each leaf is cut into many paired side leaflets arranged nearly in facing pairs. Each side leaflet is further divided into small oval pieces with toothed edges that are staggered along the lower half. Round spore patches form beneath the leaves; their thin covers fall away when ripe. Much smaller and more delicate than the big woodland ferns.
Plant group
Ferns, horsetails and clubmosses
Habitat
rock
About the habitat
Prefers shady, moist rock faces and rocky woods, on boulders, scree, and old stone walls and bridges. Occurs throughout Finland, becoming scarcer toward the north.
Sources
Photo: Jhorthos, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cystopteris fragilis iNat-154978453.1.jpg
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Tunturit: rakat ja soraikot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37766
Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Saniaiset ja liekokasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37766
Text: Pinkka: BIO-513 Syventävä putkilokasvituntemus - Conium-Epilobium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37766
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haurasloikko
