Fern I.D.?

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

I saw a fern that was pretty tall and had a large full canopy of gorgeous fronds... I know this doesn't help much but no worries I have a pic of the fronds!! lol They seem to have seed looking things under the fronds..

[img]https://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/NySnap/P1010534.jpg[/img]

[Kisal]

I'm not making any guarantees, but it looks like what I know as Bracken fern, also called Brake fern. It's pretty good sized, with fronds from 3 to 10 feet tall.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

I'm still not sure if that is it or not... It is like a medium sized tree fern ... the trunk kinda reminds me of a palm tree... but I know its a fern cuz of its characteristics in its leaves and the uncoiling fronds growing out from the center. I'm wondering if those seed looking things on the under part of the leaves are actually seeds or if they are just a feature of the plant. If they are in fact seeds then I can start growing a couple of them from seed and at least that way if I can't figure out what type of fern it is then I'll still have a couple growing lol Though it would be helpful to know what type it is to give it the proper care.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Perhaps An Australian Tree Fern?

[Kisal]

Any chance of a photo of the whole plant, to see the growth habit? That would help a lot, I think.

The seed-like things on the undersides of the leaflets aren't actually seeds. They're spore cases. When they mature, they split open and release the very fine spores, which are dispersed on air currents. Yes, you certainly can grow more ferns by "dusting" the spores on the surface of a moist growing medium. Cover the container with plastic or glass, until the baby ferns appear.

One way to collect spores is to cover the ground around a growing fern with white paper. I don't think that would work well with a plant growing out in the open, but if you have one growing in a container, that you can bring indoors for awhile, then you can watch for the dark dusting of spores to show up on the paper, and collect them before they get blown away by a passing breeze.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

So if all I have of the fern tree is a sample of its leafs.. then there is no possible way to grow a baby fern? Cuz I'd need the spores and if the plant isn't alive then I can't get spores from the cases right? it wouldn't work if I just planted the spore cases in the dirt?

Unfortunately I didn't think to take a photo at the time *sigh* its a shame too because my camera was in the car and I could have easily have gone to get it to get the photo.. just wasn't thinking that far ahead I guess I figured the leaf type and characteristics would have been enough.

[Kisal]

So if all I have of the fern tree is a sample of its leafs.. then there is no possible way to grow a baby fern? Cuz I'd need the spores and if the plant isn't alive then I can't get spores from the cases right? it wouldn't work if I just planted the spore cases in the dirt?

I don't know that that is necessarily true. You could let the fronds air dry, then see if you could remove the spore cases (one or two would probably be plenty), then crush them. Better yet, just crush up several of the dried leaflets with a mortar and pestle, and sprinkle the resulting dust over a moistened growing medium. I would suggest a medium that was neutral to very slightly acidic in pH. If the spores are viable -- and they just might be -- they should grow into happy baby ferns for you. There are thousands of spores in each case, so if even only a few sprout, it'll be worth the effort, and you'll have some nice little ferns.

Unfortunately I didn't think to take a photo at the time *sigh* its a shame too because my camera was in the car and I could have easily have gone to get it to get the photo.. just wasn't thinking that far ahead I guess I figured the leaf type and characteristics would have been enough.

Someone may come along and be able to ID the fern for you. I'm just not as well-versed in ferns as I am with some other plants.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Thank You sooo much Kisal for all your help, Once again!! lol I will definitely try to do the dry out then crush method lol Hope Hope Hope like crazy that it works

I doubt I will ever be back near the place I saw it again ...unless I was to make a special trip all the way down there just to get a picture of the tree fern lol!

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

My brother is thinking of putting a tree fern like this in his back yard for shade.... do you think it would be a good plant to use for shade? He wanted something that had a nice wide canopy that is fairly small, provides shade but isn't messy. The one we saw was pretty tall gave us enough room to walk under.. he also wanted something that would look decent year round... I'm really not sure anything like this exists. lol But the tree fern seemed close lol