Florida Native Plant Society Blog

Before we get to the Jurassic ferns, step back with me in time and space for a moment to imagine the gradual and chaotic development of life on earth. We don’t yet know much about the beginning. During 2018 the NASA Curiosity rover provided more evidence of water on Mars and, importantly, organic molecules of the types that make life on earth. That isn’t yet scientific proof for prior life on Mars because complex “organic” molecules can be created chemically without life. We will have to wait to learn more about the story of life’s origins on earth and perhaps Mars. Stromatolites, Exuma Land and Sea Park Bahamas National Parks From the fossil record, we know that Stromatolites, a living cyanobacteria, first appeared on earth roughly 3.5 billion years ago. They still live and grow relatively nearby (off the Exuma islands of the Bahamas). Stromatolites produce oxygen and slowly changed earth’s atmosphere, but nothing is simple in science or a good murder myst...

By Jeff Nurge of Native Choice Nursery Royal fern With the exception of Hawaii, Florida has more native ferns than any other state in the Union. There are approximately 130 species of fern native to Florida, of which only a handful are in widespread cultivation. Thankfully the royal fern, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis , is one of them. Form The royal fern can reach a striking three to four feet high. From his book A Gardener's Guide to Florida Native Plants , author, Rufino Osorio writes, "with age, royal ferns assume a stunning architectural quality. The long, erect fronds are finely divided and this results in a surprisingly delicate effect for so large a plant." Among the fronds are spore stalks (a.k.a. "fiddleheads") that run from green to a rusty brown, which are set off quite nicely by the evergreen foliage. This perennial fern also forms a trunk-like rhizome as it ages, which gives it a solidly regal appearance i...

Top: Barking Treefrog Bottom: Green Treefrog by Peg Lindsay The rainy season has returned. Maybe our drought is over. In my part of the state, lakes have risen a foot in just two weeks, although they are still well below historic levels. In the evenings following a deluge, I enjoy listening to the exceptionally loud chorus of froggies in the treetops, especially the Barking Treefrog ( Hyla gratiosa ) and the Green Treefrog ( Hyla cinerea ). Not only are they music to my ears, but my plants like them too - they consume a hearty share of beetles and their kin, which we seem to have an abundance of in Florida. Dry resurrection fern Another remarkable phenomenon occurs after a heavy rain. The seemingly dead plant known as resurrection fern , Pleopeltis (formerly Polypodium ) polypodioides var. michauxiana , absorbs water, unfurls and turns emerald green. This little epiphyte is typically found growing on either the limbs of our native live oak ( Quercus virginiana ) or in the ...