Advocates Blog 3/4/2024, Wells Shoemaker
A cascading mural of Maidenhair, Lady, Sword, and Bracken Ferns 2 feet above the main fire road.
Ferns appeared on Earth about 360 million years ago...long after mosses, but well before redwoods. They’re all living happily together now in our Forest of Nisene Marks.
Coastal redwood forests seem to be a favored habitat for these ancient, resourceful, hardy plants. Our Park yielded at least 9 identifiable varieties in a 2 hour hike in late February. More might reveal themselves to hikers with a gentle pace, a keen eye, and an affection for the color Green.
Let’s look at a few!
Sword ferns overhanging Aptos Creek...photos taken from the fire road!
Sword ferns are possibly the most prevalent and durable fern species in the park. When a slip out carries a sword fern away from its home, wherever it settles will become a new home. This time of year, they push up fiddleheads and refresh last year’s dark green foliage with vibrant lime green!
Polypody (many feet) ferns are famous for decorating mossy tree trunks. They’re adaptable, too!
Thanks to the moss conveniently holding moisture, these polypody ferns are happy to decorate a strut on the Steel Bridge at George’s Picnic Area.
Lady Ferns, which I call “Cascading ferns” because of the way they tumble over a steep embankment, look a bit like sword ferns. Looking more closely their leaves are lumpy on top. Underneath, they display distinctive, large, mustard yellow spore packets.
Maidenhair Ferns, like lots of common names, can get muddled. Our Forest cheerfully offers two related but different ferns: the Maidenhair Fern and the (Western Maidenhair) Five Finger Fern. We have lots of both of them.
Maidenhair Ferns grow on embankments, making decorative, drooping gardens...plentiful right along the Fire Road! They’re happier without dust!
Five Finger Ferns like it shady and moist, and they like to hang out above the ground...for example at Five Finger Falls!
Bracken Ferns live nearly everywhere, often filling the whole floor of a shady glade.
Bracken fern with a sword fern cameo on the left.
Bracken ferns don’t surrender easily to adversity. A few years ago, a devastating forest fire swept through rough country near Bonny Doon. This fern, which I dubbed Ferning Man, pushed through the ashes and scorched manzanita shortly after the first rain. What a display of determination! Let’s hope we never test this durability in Nisene Marks!
Giant Chain Ferns are easy to recognize. They’re huge, often head high, and they grow with their feet practically in the water of creeks and streams. You can find them throughout the park if there’s running water within a few feet.
Chain ferns...with spore packets on the underside. When mature, these form a pattern that reminded a botanist of a chain pattern. (This one needs a little more time.)
Deer Ferns are a seldom seen feature in our county. At first glance, these featherlike fronds look like sword ferns, but the single leaflets (pinnae) are narrower and the margins of the leaves smoother.
Spotting the rare, delicate Goldback Fern takes serious vigilance...but they’re coming out now.
An afterthought!
Living is easy for ferns under the redwood canopy. Temperatures rarely surpass 75 F. Rains fall intermittently for 6 months a year, and the deep, undisturbed duff holds moisture. It can be harder for ferns facing desert summers, subzero temperatures, and salty soil! Still...they persevere.
Acknowledgements:
US Forest Service: link: Fern Structure (usda.gov)
Five Finger (Western Maidenhair Fern) vs Maidenhair Fern: Western Maidenhair Fern vs Maidenhair Fern: Key Differences Explained - Foliage Friend - Learn About Different Types of Plants
Dennis Grillos, Ferns and Fern Allies, 1966, University of California Press, Berkeley
George Merilatt, Retired Wilderness Ranger, Science Teacher, & Naturalist for Elkhorn Slough...and Devotee of our Forest
Wells Shoemaker MD, 3/2/2024
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