Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cystopteris protrusa
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 protrusa
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-03-001:
Cystopteris protrusa FAMILY Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cystopteris fragilis var. protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Cystopteris fragilis var. protrusa
COMMON NAME:
Lowland Bladder Fern, Spreading Bladder Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm230322_1942
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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JK Marlow jkm230322_1978
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cystopteris_protrusa
March
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cprotrusa7882
April
Lower pinnules (near rachis) on lower pinnae have small stalks, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cprotrusa7888
April
Long-creeping rhizome extends forward past emerging fronds (thus protrusa), per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_cprotrusa7892
April
)
JK Marlow jkm070407_074
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Gently explore the soil below outermost emergent fronds to feel rhizome tip, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_291
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Habit of growing in soil not on rocks helps distinguish it from similar spp, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm0505m_06
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
For many years this was considered the same species as C. fragilis, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm160516_760
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Blade lanceolate, tips pointed, widest just below middle; ~ dissected, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160516_763b
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm210615_1387b
June Oconee County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Sori roundish, astride veins, submarginal, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_708
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cystopteris protrusa
FAMILY
Cystopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cystopteris protrusa
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Cystopteris protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-03-001:
Cystopteris protrusa
FAMILY
Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cystopteris fragilis var. protrusa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Cystopteris fragilis var. protrusa
430
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Rich woods or on moss- and soil-covered talus in boulderfields, loess bluffs, occasionally on ledges of rock outcrops, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains of GA & NC, uncommon in SC Mountains & in NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
2-pinnate-pinnatifid
Leaves scattered along a creeping rhizome
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986) p122
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p125
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p255
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p196
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p098
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p227
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p110
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