Cystopteris montana(Lam.) Bernh. ex Desv.

mountain bladderfern

WFO wfo-0001109562 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cystopteris montana, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. a Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-07-27 / obs. 146766985
Cystopteris montana, photographed by nina_nesterova
fig. b nina_nesterova, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 142682443
Cystopteris montana, photographed by agujaceratops
fig. c agujaceratops, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 142599476
Cystopteris montana, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. d Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 19320436
Cystopteris montana, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. e Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 8389643
Cystopteris montana, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. f Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 80289436
Cystopteris montana, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. g Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 6767210
Cystopteris montana, photographed by Erwin Gruber
fig. h Erwin Gruber, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 1116955

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 59 botanical countries

Regions where Cystopteris montana is native: Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Primorye, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Tuva, West Siberia, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Austria, Belarus, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Greenland, Labrador, Montana, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon AltayBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanPrimoryeQinghaiSakhalinTranscaucasusTürkiyeTuvaWest SiberiaYakutiyaEast HimalayaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaAustriaBelarusCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyItalyNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaColoradoGreenlandLabradorMontanaNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOntarioQuébecSaskatchewanYukon Korea
Native distribution of Cystopteris montana, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Magadan MAG
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Sakhalin SAK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Greenland GNL
Labrador LAB
Montana MNT
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
Yukon YUK
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 15 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Aspidium montanum (Lam.) Sw.
  • Aspidium myrrhidifolium (Vill.) Chevall.
  • Athyrium montanum (Lam.) Röhl. ex Speng.
  • Cyathea montana (Lam.) Sm.
  • Cyste montana (Lam.) Dulac
  • Cystea montana (Lam.) Watt
  • Cystopteris allionii Newman
  • Cystopteris montana f. glabrescens Zapal.
  • Cystopteris myrrhidifolia (Vill.) Newman
  • Filicula montana (Lam.) Farw.
  • Filix montana (Lam.) Underw.
  • Polypodium montanum Lam.
  • Polypodium montium J.F.Gmel.
  • Polypodium myrrhidifolium Vill.
  • Rhizomatopteris montana (Lam.) A.P.Khokhr.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.