I have always loved ferns. In my area, in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains and along the Blue Ridge Parkway, fern growth is a sure sign that Spring is here as they unroll their young fronds. And the ferns are everywhere.
Ferns are beautiful. As an addition to your garden, as a houseplant, or as a decorative art piece in the home or office, the pleasant yet simple beauty of the fern is pleasing to the eye.
I have taken perhaps hundreds of pictures of ferns through the years, a few of them are below. In spring, summer and in the fall, they always offer the artist or the photographer great subject matter.
Below I have published a few facts about ferns. You might find them as interesting as I have.
- There are about 12,000 species of ferns
- Ferns have been around for about 360 million years
- Ferns are older than land animals and far older than dinosaurs
- Ferns were around 200 million years before flowering plants evolved
- At one time ferns were the dominant plant of earth's vegitation
- Ferns do not reproduce from seeds or flowers but rather from microscopic spores that are too small for the human eye to see
- Most ferns grow in moist areas and can be found from sea level to 15,000 feet
- There are species of ferns that can grow in just about any condition on the planet
- Ferns are relatively delicate plants
- Ferns are grown as food and as ornamental plants
- Some ferns can remediatie contaminated soil and some ferns have the ability to remove chemical pollutants from air
- Ferns play a part in mythology, medicine, and art
- Ferns are generally not known to be poisonous to humans
- Some ferns are noxious weeds or invasive species
- Some fern plants are vividly colored
- Many organizations exist that focus on the beauty and care of ferns
