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Ferns

Importance To Humans

In general, ferns are of minor economic importance to humans. However, ferns are popular horticultural plants and many species are grown in ornamental gardens or indoors.

Most people can recognize ferns as understory or groundcover plants in woodland habitats. However, several hundred million years ago ferns and fern allies were the dominant terrestrial plants. Thus, the fossils of these plants have contributed greatly to the formation of our fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas.

Various non-western cultures have used the starchrich rhizome and stems of some fern species as a food. Westerners generally eschew ferns as a food. However, those who frequent restaurants known for their haut cuisine will occasionally find croziers or fiddleheads (unfurled fern leaves, see above) of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) served in salads, around a bowl of ice cream, or as a steamed vegetable.

Herbalists have advocated some fern species for treatment of ulcers, rheumatism, intestinal infections, and various other ailments. Although many modern pharmaceuticals are derived from chemicals produced by plants, there is little scientific evidence that ferns are useful as treatments for these or other ailments.

See also Maidenhair fern; Seed ferns.


Resources

Books

Cobb, B. A Field Guide to Ferns and Their Related Families: Northeastern and Central North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975.

Jones, D. Encyclopedia of Ferns. vol. 1. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1987.

Margulis, L., and K.V. Schwartz. Five Kingdoms. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1988.

McHugh, A. The Cultivation of Ferns. North Pomfret, VT: Trafalgar Press, 1992.


Peter A. Ensminger

KEY TERMS

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Apogamy

—Development of a sporophyte directly from the gametophyte without fusion of sex cells.

Apospory

—Development of a gametophyte directly from the sporophyte without sex cell production.

Epiphyte

—A plant which relies upon another plant, such as a tree, for physical support, but does not harm the host plant.

Flagellum

—Thread-like appendage of certain cells, such as sperm cells, which controls their locomotion.

Megaphyll

—Leaf with a complex system of branched veins, typical of ferns and seed plants.

Microphyll

—Scale-like leaf with a single midvein, typical of fern allies.

Prothallus

—Gametophyte phase of ferns and fern allies, rarely seen in nature.

Rhizome

—This is a modified stem that grows horizontally in the soil and from which roots and upward-growing shoots develop at the stem nodes.

Sorus

—Group of many sporangia, which often appear as a brown spot on the margin or underside of a fern frond.

Sporangium

—Structure that produces spores.

Spore

—Small reproductive cell that develops into a gametophyte.

Symbiosis

—A biological relationship between two or more organisms that is mutually beneficial. The relationship is obligate, meaning that the partners cannot successfully live apart in nature.

Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Evolution to FerrocyanideFerns - General Characteristics, Natural History, Life Cycle, Gametophyte, Sporophyte, Polyploidy, Evolution, Modern Ferns