Florida Ferns

Florida has a humid, subtropical environment, with lots of shallow wetlands – perfect for the lives of ferns. As a result, we have a richness of ferns – over 60 species -- including some, such as the Old World Climbing Fern and Water Spangles -- that are troublesome exotic invaders that have been deliberately or accidentally introduced from elsewhere. Some such as Resurrection Fern are small; and some are enormous, such as the Giant Leather Fern. In this week’s wild things I introduce some of the diversity of Florida ferns and their basic characteristics