Monday, June 02, 2008

Spores gone wild



Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) bends over backwards.

I really love the Ontario Ferns site. It provides photos during all stages of development, plus it tell you things like, "Christmas Fern does not have a separate fertile stalk. Instead, the fertile pinnae (leaflets) are carried at the top of the regular fronds."



Rattlesnake fern (Botrychium virginianum). Not the greatest photo, but it was the only time I'd seen the fertile frond.

I love that phrase, by the way: fertile frond. (Much more pleasant than cellar door, if you ask me.)

Ontario Ferns tells me that this isn't one of the similar Grape ferns, since the fertile stalk separates at the same level that the leaves do.

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No idea what this is, but I loved the way the branches formed little arcs. (Please tell me if you know the ID!)

2 comments:

NCmountainwoman said...

I haven't a clue, so I'm no help at all, except to say the ferns are great. I love having them around.

Rurality said...

Thanks NCMW. I don't know that much about them, but I love seeing the ferns in all their different stages.