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Fern Photography
Fern Photography
Hello there. You've stumbled upon my favorite subject to take photos of (and to study): ferns. In case you don't know: ferns, class Polypodiopsida, appear to make their grand entrance into the world in the Devonian period, roughly 390 million years ago. Their great innovation in the world of plants was megaphylls, better known as leaves. Ferns reproduce by spores and they have an awkward and vulnerable gametophyte phase, which is what sets them apart from later seed-producing plants. I don't know how, why or when my interest in ferns started. Maybe it's because of tree ferns that stand out as a time portal to the Mesozoic era. But suffice it to say that I am always looking around for ferns (really, I'm listening, there is just a fern behind you) and on iNaturalist I mostly am active identifying other people's ferns, especially in North America. I've been trying learn more about the ferns of the Caribbean. In any case, I find ferns absolutely gorgeous. Below is a not so small selection of my pictures.
The abaxial side of the leaves of Birdwing treefern (Cyatheaceae: Cyathea borinquena) with its sporangia clearly visible, in the El Toro Wilderness, Puerto Rico. A Puerto Rico endemic species.
The zig-zagging rachis of the Helecho Gigante de la Sierra (Cyatheaceae: Alsophila bryophila) at El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico. Another Puerto Rico endemic species.
The blue-ish adaxial side of the Southwestern False Cloak Fern (Pteridaceae: Argyrochosma limatanea) is an adaptation that reduces damage from the harsh desert sun, at Cockscomb Mtn, Arizona.
Hen and Chicks Ferns (Aspleniaceae: Asplenium bulbiferum) can reproduce by cloning themselves, by dropping some of their "chicks", in Hollyford Valley, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
Bright green foliage of a freshly formed frond of the New York Fern (Thelypteridaceae: Amauropelta noveboracensis), here at the Talbot Wildlife Management Area, Connecticut.
Fiddleheads of the Mountain Spleenwort (Aspleniaceae: Asplenium montanum), an imperiled and protected species in Connecticut, here found growing on the Scotland Schist in Connecticut.
The very long leaf tips of the Walking Fern (Aspleniaceae: Asplenium rhizophyllum) can root and grow a new plant. Here found on siltstone of the Shuttle Meadow Formation on the Talcott Ridge, Connecticut.
In a country that largely consists of soft sediment, rock-dwellers like the Hart's-tongue Fern (Aspleniaceae: Asplenium scolopendrium) have made a home of man-made walls, like this one on a canal wall in Utrecht, Netherlands.
The delicate bright green fronds of the Northern Maidenhair Fern (Pteridaceae: Adiantum pedatum) at Falls Village, Connecticut.
The Common Moonwort (Ophioglossaceae: Botrychium lunaria) belongs to an ancestral lineage of ferns, here at Laugará, Iceland.
The highly lobed blade of the Copper Fern (Pteridaceae: Bommeria hispida) may be to increase heat loss in its desert habitat, here in Saguaro National Park, Arizona.
Starry adaxial scales on the pinnae of the Wavy Scale Cloakfern (Pteridaceae: Astrolepis sinuata) at Saguaro National Park, Arizona.
A Thread Fern (Blechnaceae: Blechnum filiforme) clambering up a treetrunk at Pirongia Forest Park, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
Fertile fronds of the American Parsley Fern (Pteridaceae: Cryptogramma acrostichoides) wedged between granite boulders near Santa Fe Baldy, New Mexico.
Unfurling fiddleheads of the Kiokio (Blechnaceae: Blechnum novae-zelandiae) at Pirongia Forest Park, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
Fertile and sterile fronds of the Little Hard Fern (Blechnaceae: Blechnum penna-marina) in Hollyford Valley, New Zealand.
Sporangia of the Austral Lady Fern (Athyriaceae: Diplazium australe) at Karakaraki Scenic Reserve, New Zealand.
Beautifully patterned sporangia and venation of the Deepwoods Fern (Cyatheaceae: Cyathea horrida) at El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico.
The endemic Silver Fern (Cyatheaceae: Cyathea dealbata) is a symbol of New Zealand's national identity, symbolizing strength, stubborn resistance, and enduring power. Here at Karakaraki Scenic Reserve, New Zealand.
The Tennessee Bulblet Fern (Cystopteridaceae: Cystopteris tennesseensis) appears to preferentially grow in urban environments, like this one in Morningside Park, New York City.
Clinton's Wood Fern (Dryopteridaceae: Dryopteris clintoniana) is a so-called stable allohexaploid species, meaning this is a species that originated by hybridization, here at Crooked Brook, Connecticut.
Early morning guttation observed in Hay-scented Fern (Dennstaedtiaceae: Dennstaedtia punctilobula) along the Tankerhoosen River, Connecticut.
Bright green foliage of the Northern Oak Fern (Cystopteridaceae: Gymnocarpium dryopteris) in the understory of a stunted birch forest at Skaftafell, Iceland.
The scaly rachis of the Scrambling Coral Fern (Gleicheniaceae: Gleichenia microphylla) here at Kaitoke Regional Park, New Zealand.
See-through fronds of the Drooping Filmy Fern (Hymenophyllaceae: Hymenophyllum demissum) that are only 1 cell thick! Here at Kaitoke Regional Park, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
New fronds climbing on old fronds of the Mangemange (Lygodiaceae: Lygodium articulatum) at Karakariki Scenic Reserve, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
The gorgeous much-divided frond of the Lace Fern (Dennstaedtiaceae: Leptolepia novae-zelandiae) deep in the temperate rainforest of Hollyford Valley, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
The pearly white abaxial pinnae of the aptly named Diamondleaf Fern (Dicksoniaceae: Lophosoria quadripinnata) here in the El Toro Wilderness, Puerto Rico.
Unfurling fronds of the feather-like Prince of Wales Fern (Osmundaceae: Leptopteris superba) in the temperate rainforest of Hollyford Valley, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
The densely scaly abaxial side of Fendler's Lip Fern (Pteridaceae: Myriopteris fendleri) that protects the plant from dehydration, here at Madera Canyon, Arizona.
The cute hairy fronds of Parry's Lip Fern (Pteridaceae: Myriopteris parryi) protect the fern from overheating at Joshua Tree National Park, California.
The Star Cloak Fern (Pteridaceae: Notholaena standleyi) produces a substance called farina that functions as a kind of sunscreen in its desert habitat, here at Saguaro National Park, Arizona.
Tembladora (Lindsaeaceae: Odontosoria scandens) is a rainforest climber, here at El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico.
Encountering a rare Northern Holly Fern (Dryopteridaceae: Polystichum lonchitis) while hunting for bilberries on a canyon wall carved out by the Geitá, Iceland.
The Mountain Shield Fern (Dryopteridaceae: Polystichum cystostegia) hiding between boulders at Lake Alta, New Zealand.
No, this Broad Beech Fern (Thelypteridaceae: Phegopteris hexagonoptera) isn't sick - it has withdrawn its chloroplasts into its rhizome to prepare for winter - at Talcott Ridge, Connecticut.
Frosted tips: Hoar frost covering the evergreen foliage of the Prickly Shield Fern (Dryopteridaceae: Polystichum vestitum) at Waipori Falls, New Zealand. A New Zealand endemic species.
Taking you back to the Carboniferous: fronds of the large but primitive King Fern (Marattiaceae: Ptisana salcina) at Pirongia Forest Park, New Zealand.
Dense cover of the Mexican Umbrella Fern (Gleicheniaceae: Sticherus bifidus) after a landslide at El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico.
Rare find in the dense rainforest understory: the Forest Soralpouch Fern (Saccolomataceae: Saccoloma inaequale) in the El Toro Wilderness, Puerto Rico.
The unusually dark green (and spiky!) fronds of the Black Shield Fern (Dryopteridaceae: Polystichum neozelandicum) - epically evergreen, at Aorangi Forest Park, New Zealand.
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