January 9, 2023
Darla Harris highlights 21 Texas ferns that are either native to the region or do well in the Houston area. She also touches on the history of ferns and their reproductive strategies.
Texas ferns covered:
Woodwardia virginica (Virginia Chainfern, Virginia Chain Fern)
Woodwardia areolata (Netted Chainfern, Chain Fern, Netted Chain Fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (Sensitive Fern, Bead Fern, Sympathy Fern)
Adiantum capillus-veneris (Southern Maidenhair Fern, Common Maidenhair Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Venus Hair Fern)
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, formerly Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern)
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis (Royal Fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (Western Bracken Fern, Bracken Fern, Western Bracken, Bracken)
Botrychium biternatum (Sparselobe Grapefern)
Asplenium platyneuron (Ebony Spleenwort)
Asplenium trichomanes (Maidenhair Spleenwort)
Anemia mexicana (Mexican Fern, Mexican Flowering Fern)
Dryopteris ludoviciana (Southern Woodfern, Florida Shieldfern)
Thelypteris kunthii (Wood Fern, River Fern, Southern Shield Fern, Kunth’s Maiden Fern, Normal Shield Fern)
Pleopeltis polypodioides (Resurrection Fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern)
Equisetum hyemale (Scouring-rush Horsetail, Horsetail, Scouring Rush, Canuela)
Marsilea macropoda (Bigfoot Water-clover, Water-clover, Clover-fern, Largefoot Pepperwort)
Azolla caroliniana (Carolina Mosquitofern)
Selaginella lepidophylla (Flower Of Stone)
Pellaea ovata (Ovateleaf Cliffbrake, Ovate-leaf Cliffbrake)
Pellaea atropurpurea (Purple Cliffbrake)
About the Speaker
Darla Harris has over 40 years of experience growing ferns and has grown over 650 different ferns. She is the president of the Texas Gulf Coast Fern Society and editor of the American Fern Society Fiddlehead forum. Darla opened Fern Plantation Nursery in 2015, where she offers more than 200 different ferns.
Resources
Diggs, George M., and Barney L. Lipscomb. The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 2014.
Peterson, Charles D., and Larry E. Brown. Vascular Flora of the Little Thicket Nature Sanctuary, San Jacinto County, Texas: A Sanctuary of the Outdoor Nature Club, Houston, Texas. Houston, TX: The Club, 1983.
Yarborough, Sharon C. Ferns and Fern Allies of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2002.
Hosted by Environmental Institute of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake
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