Fern Lab

Ferns have been around for 320 million years, beginning in the Carboniferous period. They belong to an ancient group called Pteridoptera. There are many things that characterize a fern. They have no flowers for reproduction and have a two-phase life cycle containing both sexual and nonsexual reproduction. The nonsexual reproduction uses spores, while the sexual reproduction depends on free water for the transportation of sperm. During nonsexual reproduction, fronds (the central stalks with leaves) uncoil as they grow and have a fiddlehead shape. Spores are produced on the underside of fronds, and their sori (the aggregation they appear in) are used to identify them. About 20% of ferns grow on trees, making them arborescent, and 80% are epiphytic. The decomposition of ferns over millions of years has led to the supplies of coal that we depend on for energy every day. However, throughout the time that it has been on earth, the fern has changed very little. Ferns have been around for longer than we can imagine, and will probably be around long after humans have disappeared.

Taxonomic Identifications

Picture	Latin Name (Family Genus Species)	Common Name	Leaf Type	Details	Family Characteristics
	Blechnaceae Blechum occidentale	None	Entera	- alternating leaf pattern - visible spores on underside of sorus
	Aspleniaceae Asplenium sp.	Spleenwort	Entera	- epiphytic - clustered growth pattern
	Dryopteridacea Diplazium urctifolium	None	Lobulada	- arborescent - Chevron-shaped sori - clustered growth pattern - pinnae growth to15 cm - cello-rounded lobes	- dimorphism - rounded lobe - pinnae is one compound leaf
	Dennistaedticeae Odontosoria gymnogrammoides	None	3-pinnada	- exposed vascular sytstem - resembles moss in natural state - woody stem
	Pteracidae Pteris altissima	None	Pinnatisecta		- black stalks - sorus covered by flap of blade margin
	Thelypteriadaceae Thelypteris Rudis	None	Entera	- alternating leaf pattern - woody stem - terrestrial growth (arborescent)	- the sporophyte consists of commonly upright rhizomes that often give rise to tufts of pinnate leaves - tiny, but rather conspicuous needle-like bristles are found on the leaves, especially along the veins of the lower leaf surface
	Pteridaceae Pityogramma tartarea	Silverback Fern	Pinnatisecta		- black stalks - sorus covered by flap of blade margin
	Pteridaceae Adiantum concinnum	Dwarf Maidenhair Fern	Pinnatisecta	- growth to 20 cm in height - lives in rocky soil and crevices kidney-shaped sori at edge of pinnates	- black stalks - sorus covered by flap of blade margin
	Dicksoniaceae Calcita coniifolia	None	4-to-5 pinnada
	Gleichenaceae Gleichenia retroflexa	None	3-pinnada		- 2 pairs of multi-tooth pinnae - pinnae extend horizontally at regular intervals