Ferns: a woodland treasure

Описание: Join us as we go for a hike and identify some native ferns along the way. Ferns are a prehistoric plant, in fact, fossils are dated back to when dinosaurs walked the earth. Nowadays, while dinosaurs no longer walk the earth, we can hike and find plants that haven’t changed much since those times. There are over 100,500 species of ferns around the world and more are being discovered. Ferns are a specialized group of plants that adapted to low light and competitive growing conditions. They are allelopathic, meaning they produce a chemical that is toxic to other plants and inhibit growth, which helps the spread of the ferns rhizomes. Ferns reproduce by spores, small capsules on the underside of the fronds or stalks that arise from the crown. They prefer warmer, moist conditions, with richer soil; though some are more cold hardy and will survive in harsher environments, like rock crevices. Today, we are going to show you how to identify some common native ferns. The Long Beech Fern is unusual because the last two leaflets extend outward from the rachis and the stem, or rachis, is winged. A trait that is not common with ferns.
The Christmas Fern is a common woodland fern used in the floral industry because of their thick, evergreen leaves that are a lustrous dark green. On the underside of the leaves are where the spores form and are cast away.
Another common fern is the New York Fern, this one is a light green color and the fronds taper at the tip and base, the midsection is much wider. The pinnae travel all the way down the rachis, getting smaller as they go. These like moist, humus rich soil and spread by rhizomes. A fern that looks very similar is the Lady Fern, the key difference is that the pinnae stay almost the same size from base to middle and taper at the top. The pinnae also don’t travel down the rachis. Maidenhair Ferns are the most graceful and elegant of ferns. They have striking black/purple stems with forked fronds that circle around, much like a horseshoe. These also spread by rhizomes and prefer moist, humus rich soil.

Joyce Browning Horticulturist, Master Gardener Coordinator
Video credit: Bethany Evans Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Program Alumni; CPH

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