| Ferns |
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| Ferns There are over 1,200 different kinds of ferns alive today living in many different climates, terrain, and locations. Life Cycle, The most common method is a spore falling from a parent plant, grows by cell division, soon grows a half-inch green heart-shaped plant that lays flat on the ground. The heart-shaped plant grows male and female parts on its underside that 'mate' and a fern begins to grow. Another major method is Apogamy, grows without the fertilization. Yet anothermajor method is vegetatively via the rhizomes. Time, In over 300 million years the diversification has been phenomenal. During the Carboniferous period they were the dominant vegetation. There is fossil evidence of ferns in the Devonian era (345-395 million years ago) and evolved from the first vascular plants in the Silurian era (395-435 mya). |
| Fern anatomy Spore "seed", Spores contain oil droplets and sometimes chlorophyll in addition to their nucleus. Ferns can drop millions, even billions, during thier lifetime but few find a suitable place to sprout. Frond "leaf", The frond is composed of two main structures; the Stipe (stalk) and the Blade (the leafy outcroppings. Rhizome "stem", The Rhyizome could be compared to the stem of a flowering plant. In many cases the rhizome can be inconspicuous or even entirely underground. Rhizomes of tree ferns on the other hand may be 60cm in diameter and up to 12 m tall. In some epiphytic ferns (ferns that grow in trees) and in terrestrial creeping ferns the rhizome roams widely and is quite visible. The fronds that arise from this "stem" arise from the upper side or occur in one or more rows laterally on each side. Roots, Roots are formed from the rhizomes or sometimes from the Stipe. The roots usually do not divide once they grow from the rhizome. Tree fern roots grow down from the crown and help thicken and strengthen the trunk. The roots anchor the plant to the ground and absorb water and minerals. |
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