I don't even remember where I got this from. Anybody know what type of fern it is? fern ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
I don't know much about ferns. I will have to remember to take a photo of the "wild" ones growing at the family home.
Yes, I agree that IDing ferns can be difficult. With most they usually require a microscope so you can look at the sori pattern and the type of indusium they have.
I was trying to get a photo of a Boston Fern for the plants page. Do I need to take a closer photo of the plant? Any other suggestions on what I can do to help with the IDing?
It does look like a Boston Fern, but just to be sure could you get a closer image of the leaves and the smaller leaflets? I can't tell if it's producing spores, but if it is could you get a picture of them also? That should help with ID.
Here are couple of close-ups. Does this help? fernclose1 ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) fernclose2 ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Yep, it's a Boston! You can tell by looking at the margin of the leaves in your photo. You can see little light colored spots, that's where the spores will be produced. Also you can tell by looking at the color of the stem and where the leaf is closest to the stem it jets upward on one side.
Wow!!! How on earth do you know all those details??!! Learned something new, once again, here on the Stew! I'll submit the photos for the plant page. Can I also submit your details with them?
Yes you can. To help with that the large or the whole leaf is called a frond, the smaller leaflets are called pinnae, and the stem is called a rachis. Those terms only apply to ferns though.
