What are the characters of a fern?
Answers
A fern plant generally consists of one or more fronds attached to a rhizome. A frond is simply the leaf of the fern. A rhizome is a specialized, root-like stem. In most temperate-zone species of ferns, the rhizome is subterranean and has true roots attached to it. Fronds are generally connected to the rhizome by a stalk, known technically as the stipe. The structures of the frond, rhizome, and stipe are important characteristics for species identification.
The sizes of ferns and their fronds vary considerably among the different species. Tree ferns of the Cyatheaceae family are the largest ferns. They are tropical plants which can grow 60 ft (18 m) or more in height and have fronds 15 ft (5 m) or more in length. In contrast, species in the genus Azolla, a group of free-floating aquatic ferns, have very simple fronds which are less than 0.2 in (0.5 cm) in diameter.