Want to Learn the Ferns? Start Here

Today's article was written by Sharkbytes. She is an accomplished hiker, writer, and plant expert. Her general knowledge of nature is well-respected, and she can entertain as well as teach in any article she writes. After reading this article, I encourage you to follow the links at the bottom to find more from her. Read on.




Want to Learn the Ferns? Start Here

Ferns are fascinating, both in their shapes and their reproductive method. As is common in botany, learning a new group of plants can require you to learn a whole new vocabulary. But if you start simply, and just begin with applying the few new words to every fern you see, then when those words come easily, you can add another layer of knowledge.
Like most plants, ferns have stems and leaves. Unlike most plants, they do not have flowers; ferns reproduce by means of spores. But for now, just begin with stems and leaves.

Fern stems have two parts, the rachis (RAY-kiss) and the stipe. The stipe goes from the base of the plant to where the leaves start. The rachis is the part of the stem where the leaves are growing. Why do they have separate names? Sometimes, noticing how long the rachis is in comparison to the stipe is part of the identification process.

Click to Enlarge for the Triangles

Now let’s stop saying “leaves.” Ferns have compound leaves, which means that really, each entire stalk is a leaf. That is called a blade- see the red triangle. Each blade may have leaflets and these are called pinnae (PIN-uh)- see the yellow triangle. If each pinnae has even smaller leaflets, these are called pinnules (PIN-yules)- see the blue triangle.



So these are all the words for this lesson:
blade- the whole leaf
rachis- the stem where there is a leaf
stipe- the stem below the leaf
pinnae- leaflets
pinnules- subdivisions of the leaflets

Hart's-tongue Fern

Next time you look at a fern, just try to name these parts of the plant.  But ferns can be quite the little teasers. Not all ferns will have pinnae and pinnules. This is the last part of today’s lesson. A fern blade can be undivided, once divided, twice divided, or thrice divided. Very few are undivided. This means that the blade has just a single leaf, much like any other plant. On a casual glance you might not even think it was a fern. But you won’t see many of these. The picture is the very rare hart’s-tongue fern. It was wilting on a hot summer’s day, but I took it’s picture just to prove I had actually seen it in my lifetime.

Christmas Fern

A once-divided fern has pinnae with no teeth attached to the rachis. The fairly common fern called Christmas fern is a good example of this.

Beech Fern

On a twice-divided fern, each pinnae will have definite teeth or lobes of its own. The example is a beech fern.

Intermediate Wood Fern

For thrice-divided, each pinnae will have sub-leaflets. These are the laciest ferns, and the example is an intermediate wood fern.








Start with this information. Watch for ferns in the woods, in parks or gardens, even in the plant store! Make a game out of identifying these parts, and deciding how many times the fern is divided. Once you are comfortable with these words you are ready for the next step.

I recommend a small booklet called “The Fern Finder.” by Ann Hallowell for beginners. It has clear line drawings and a simple key that will train you to look for particular features.

Fern Finder: A Guide to Native Ferns of Central and Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada (Nature Study Guides)


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