Staghorn ferns grow in massive colonies where individual plants contribute different jobs. This may make them “eusocial,” like ants or termites.

The spores released by the sporophyte – the asexually reproducing form that we commonly recognize as a fern – germinate into either a tiny, heart-shaped, hermaphroditic gametophyte (“hermaphroditic” ...

Ferns figured out how to say goodbye to the aquatic environment. With roots they could grab hold of the soil and with their vascular tissues they could pump water up into larger and larger bodies.

Q: Enclosed is a sample of what has infected two of my beautiful ferns. I’m afraid it’s going to kill them if I don’t control it right away. No one has been able to help me. Please tell me ...

Armed with the pocket guide, “Identifying Ferns the Easy Way,” we determined the parts of the leaves, known as the frond, ...

Spread by wind, a small percentage will find an optimal wet site to begin the very complicated reproductive cycle of ferns. The scaly, silvery fiddleheads rise in early to mid-spring.

Ferns have multiple reproductive strategies. Most species combine spore development and photosynthesis on a single leaf type – a strategy called monomorphism.

First evolving some 360 million years ago, ferns are one of the oldest plant species on Earth. But the secret to the chain fern’s evolutionary reversal has more to do with what it lacks .