Polypodiophyta Plantae Flora and Fauna
Polypodiophyta Plantae Flora and Fauna
Ferns are the biggest and most diverse group of non-flowering plants, with about 11,000 species. Most species live in the tropics and many are epiphytes on trees. The reproduction of ferns is complex. Spores are produced on the undersides of the fronds. If these fall in a suitable damp place they develop into small heart-shaped structures called prothalli. After a further sexual stage, a new plant grows from a female prothallus.
Top: Science: Biology: Flora and Fauna: Plantae: Polypodiophyta
See Also:
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Introduction to the Ferns - The ferns are an ancient lineage of plants, dating back to at least the Devonian. They include three living groups - Marattiales, Ophioglossales, and leptosporangiate ferns - as well as a couple of extinct groups.
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Pterophyta - Introduction to the systematics of the ferns, with family descriptions and images.
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Leptosporangiate Ferns - Next to the flowering plants, the leptosporangiate ferns are the most diverse group of living land plants. Estimates place their diversity at about 12,000 species in around 300 genera. This page is part of the tree of life phylogeny project.
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Filicopsida - Introduction to ferns from the Tree of Life project.
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British Fern Species - Searchable database.
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Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland - Small images of 39 antique prints by Thomas Moore, 1855.
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Ferns of the Canberra Region - A site about ferns in southeastern Australia, their ecology, how to grow them, information on ferns in general, with numerous photographs.
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Ferns et al of New England and Bermuda - Lists all native pteridophyte species and some hybrids, with photographs of most and data pages for some.
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Neotropical Fern Genera - Key to the genera of neotropical ferns provided by PhytoImages.
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Plant Diversity: Ferns in The Wet Tropics - Information and photographs of several ferns that grow in northern Australia.
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Gallery of Connecticut Ferns - Photos and brief information indexed by common and scientific names.
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Fern Siam - Images, taxonomic information, online forum, and other resources about ferns in Thailand. Mostly in Thai language, with some English.
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Native Ferns for Cool Climates - Information on the cultivation of Australian native ferns with a species list.
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American Fern Society - Information on the biology and cultivation of ferns; activities of the society including a spore exchange and publication of Fiddlehead Forum, American Fern Journal, and Pteridologia.
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British Ferns - The Delta database provides botanical descriptions of all species found in the British Isles.
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Ferns of Barbados - Checklist plus distribution data and links for each species.
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Phylogeny and evolution of ferns (Monilophytes) - Scientific paper from American Journal of Botany 2004 showing that Psilotophyta and Equisetophya are in the Monilophyte clade with the other ferns.
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