Common Name: Oak Fern Scientific Name: Gymnocarpium dryopteris Distribution: Much of the northern United States. Notes: I found this one on the Heart of the Forest Trail in Olympic National Park, Washington State. |
FERNS are vascular plants that contain xylem and phloem. They were the first vascular plants to have roots, stems, and leaves. However, they do not have flowers or seeds. Instead, they use spores to reproduce. The earliest known ferns appear in fossils that are about 350 million years old. Ferns are not as prevalent as they were before flowering plants evolved, but there are still more than 10,000 species of ferns in the world. Of those, about 400 species occur in the United States. Links Books |
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