Cystopteris montana Mountain Bladder-fern RRR DDD N
On our way back from a short holiday on Arran where we climbed Ben More, we decided to climb the two close Munros of Ben Lui and Beinn A'Chleibh. As the slopes of Ben Lui are a well known site for this fern, we searched for Cystopteris montana amongst some rocks which looked promising. We found this one right next to Cystopteris fragilis and the difference is bigger than I thought it would be. Nevertheless we checked and the identification has been confirmed.
I was particularly pleased that we found this fern here as in a previous, exhausting expedition to rocky slopes at the back of Ben Lawers where we had been assured that it grew, we had found nothing.
This plant is restricted to a few sites in the mountains of central Scotland and does not occur in Wales, England or Ireland.
Upper slopes of Ben Lui, Scotland, 18th June 2001
Added on January 23rd 2005, updated 10th December 2008, updated 21st March 2010, updated Se3 4th May 2010, updated 15th July 2014