fertile fern fronds of the Ostrich Fern

I love the look of these fertile fern fronds. They do indeed look kind of like Ostrich feathers. We have a lot of these plants in the space between our home and our neighbor's home. They grow rapidly and are tall enough to cover up a small azalea and boxwood plants.

early spring with the azalea

As the spring progressed, the plants filled in and grew!

Now it is hard to see the pachysandra, and the other bushes in the space.

late spring with the azalea

Guess there is a lesson in there somewhere...Ostrich Ferns are considered by some to be invasive.... I think at the very least, we can consider them to be very successful and fertile!

The Language of Ferns

Regrettably I am only fluent in American English. But I love words. Ferns have a botanical lexicon that is fascinating to me. From their common names, such as maidenhair, ebony spleenwort, and rock polypody, to the terms for various stages in their life cycle, such as sporangium, prothallus, and sporophyte, there are many words to enjoy.

I know I will think of other ferns and botanical terms after this is posted, so one of the things I want to learn is how make connections from one posting to another.
I have also seen lovely images and charts about ferns. I want to learn the proper way to reference the work of others within the blog.

fiddleheads

A fiddlehead is a curled up new frond pushing up out of the earth. The fern plant from which it begins can be quite old, but this part of it is new. I like to learn new things. I like to learn by doing, so here I go. You are welcome to come along too.

I need to find a photo of a fiddlehead and some fertile fern fronds to use. For now,  here is a maidenhair fern plant that i saw in a greenhouse on the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.