bladder fern

/ˌblædər fərn/

Other forms: bladder ferns

Definitions of bladder fern

1. noun

   any fern of the genus Cystopteris characterized by a hooded indusium or bladderlike membrane covering the sori
   types:

   Cystopteris fragilis, brittle bladder fern, brittle fern, fragile fern

   delicate fern widely distributed in North America and European having thin pinnatifid fronds with brittle stems

   Cystopteris montana, mountain bladder fern

   fern of rocky mountainous areas of hemisphere

   Cystopteris bulbifera, berry fern, bulblet bladder fern, bulblet fern

   North American fern often bearing bulbils on the leaflets

   type of:

   fern

   any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores