All ferns love moisture and should be given humid conditions. In living rooms and family rooms, stand their pots on trays of damp pebbles or clay granules. Ferns also love being misted at regular intervals with tepid, soft water unless the humidity of the whole room is kept high through the use of a humidifier.
So, by capturing and exploiting a different part of the sun's light spectrum, the ferns seem to have found a timely way to avoid extinction. This new gene gave them a way to collect sufficient energy to grow in the shade, which is where we see them growing so vigorously now.
Essential Features of Ferns | Plant KingdomFerns are seedless vascular plants of humid tropics and temperate areas. ... They constitute the largest living group of primitive vascular plants with over 10,000 species. ... Plant body is a sporophyte. ... The stem is underground rhizome in most of the ferns. ... Roots are adventitious.More items...
The life cycle of the fern has two different stages; sporophyte, which releases spores, and gametophyte, which releases gametes. Gametophyte plants are haploid, sporophyte plants diploid. This type of life cycle is called alternation of generations.
The ability to grow continuously, and often asexually, in these gametophytes means that they can live indefinitely. Because of their small size, they can also exploit small, protected microhabitats in areas where conditions are otherwise unfavorable for their growth.
The most notable adaptation made by ferns is the presence of a rhizome. The rhizome, or stem, of the Licorice Fern develops horizontally beneath the soil, containing a growing tip that gives way to new frond development. The consistency of rhizomes can vary from wood-like hardness to plush-like softness in texture.
Similar to flowering plants, ferns have roots, stems and leaves. However, unlike flowering plants, ferns do not have flowers or seeds; instead, they usually reproduce sexually by tiny spores or sometimes can reproduce vegetatively, as exemplified by the walking fern.
Ferns have 3 major parts – the rhizome, the fronds and the reproductive structures called sporangia. The characteristics of each of these 3 parts of the fern plant are used for classification and identification.
damp forestsEcologically, the ferns are most commonly plants of shaded damp forests of both temperate and tropical zones. Some fern species grow equally well on soil and upon rocks; others are confined strictly to rocky habitats, where they occur in fissures and crevices of cliff faces, boulders, and taluses.
Ferns reproduce asexually by their modified stems, which are called rhizomes. Rhizomes spread just above or below the soil surface where they form roots on their undersides and new plants above. Some ferns have clumping forms and others have spreading habits, but both kinds reproduce by their rhizomes.
Indoor ferns can last for many years – even decades – with proper care and attention. One family in Virginia claim to have maintained their Boston fern for over 114 years! With re-potting and propagation, single plants can be regenerated again and again, making such advanced ages possible.
Plants have two distinct stages in their lifecycle: the gametophyte stage and the sporophyte stage.