Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cystopteris fragilis
FAMILY
Cystopteridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Cystopteris from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cystopteris fragilis
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cystopteris fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Cystopteris fragilis
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of West Virginia (Strausbaugh & Core, 1978)
Cystopteris fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cystopteris fragilis var. fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Cystopteris fragilis var. fragilis
COMMON NAME:
Fragile Fern, Brittle Fern, Brittle Bladder Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_fifr_001_lvd
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cfragilis3868
April
Pinnules variably lobed with toothed to smooth margins, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cfragilis1797
July
Blades lanceolate with pointed tips, widest just below middle, ~ dissected, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cfragilis1798
July
If toothed, pinnae margins have sharp teeth (veins ending at teeth tips), per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cfragilis1798b
July
Sori few and scattered, on veins, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cystopteris fragilis
FAMILY
Cystopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cystopteris fragilis
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cystopteris fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Cystopteris fragilis
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of West Virginia (Strausbaugh & Core, 1978)
Cystopteris fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cystopteris fragilis var. fragilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Cystopteris fragilis var. fragilis
429
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Cliffs, ascending in our area to 1650 m, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
2-pinnate-pinnatifid ?
Leaves clustered at tip of a short-creeping rhizome
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".