Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
fern
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
tree fern filmy fern
Observe how the sporophytic fern appears to unfurl upward as it grows from its rhizome
bracken fern cliff brake fern life cycle fern anatomy shield fern lip fern fern life cycle
For Students
fern summary
Quizzes
Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Read Next
Plant seedlings emerging from rich fertile soil
Do Plants Feel Pain?
Discover
Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.
What is Holy Week?
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
German machine gunners occupy a trench during World War I.
Weapons of World War I
Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.
10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers.
9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals
Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)
6 Important Mughal Emperors

fern: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/fern
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As true fern • Filicophyta • Polypodiopsida

Photos and Videos

tree fern
filmy fern
bracken fern
cliff brake
fern life cycle
fern anatomy
shield fern
lip fern
fern life cycle
fern gametophytes
Observe how the sporophytic fern appears to unfurl upward as it grows from its rhizome
Why do ferns prefer the shade?
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Hooker, Sir William Jackson
Sir William Jackson Hooker
British botanist
Frederick Orpen Bower, detail of an oil painting by Sir William Orpen; in the University of Glasgow Art Collections
Frederick Orpen Bower
English botanist
Douglas Campbell
Douglas Houghton Campbell
American botanist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Demystified
Plant seedlings emerging from rich fertile soil
Do Plants Feel Pain?