What are Ferns?

Ferns are one of the most ancient plants. They appeared over 300 million years ago. This was around the time when coal was being formed. Long before the evolution the evolution of dinosaurs.

Ferns are a big group of highly advanced cryptogams. They are found all over the world in cool, shady, moist places and in the hills and pains. Some time we find them on the sides of wells. They vary in size from tiny water ferns to giant tree with stems up to 25 meters high.

The stem of the fern is mostly a rhizome and sometimes it is erect and aerial like in the tree fern. The leaves of the fern grow form the underground stem. The roots are fibrous growing profusely form the rhizome. The underside of the leaf bears a number of dark brown structures. These are clusters of little sacs which contain tiny reproductive spores. As the spore sac matures and dries, it bursts open ejecting the spores out with a jerk in all directions.

Thus a fern plant passes through the two stages to complete its life history. The two stages or generations regularly alternate with each other.

There is one fern named the walking fern. This propagates vegetatively by leaf trips. As the leaf bows down and touches the ground, the tip strikes roots and forms a bud. This grows into a new plant.

Some of the varieties of the ferns are the male fern, water fern, hard fern, bracken, hart’s-tongue fern, wall rue and the common plant.

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