Fernie 2016
- Molly
- May 3, 2018
- 1 min read
Sorry for the pun, I just couldn't help myself. But, this is a post about ferns. They are some of the most ancestral plants that we have on the earth today. By this, we mean that they remain evolutionarily close to the common ancestor that all plants have.
There's something else that makes ferns special. They reproduce in a way that is completely different from all other plant life on earth. They produce using spores.
This works through the "pinna." Within these pinna, there are spores that contain small pods (prothalius). Within these small pods there are male and female regions that mix their individual DNA. But, how does this sperm swim up to the egg?
Water.
Ferns grow in damp, moist areas because of this. They have to use the moisture to provide a medium for the sperm to meet the egg.
No other plant reproduces like this, but it must be working! Ferns, as an order, have been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth. You know what they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Happy to see a post on these cool plants! I never knew about ferns reproducing via spores prior to this class, but it's so interesting that one of our oldest group of plants reproduces so differently than all the others. My favorite that we've seen in class was the Northern Maidenhair Fern that looked like the hand!