Having existed for millions of years ferns come in all sizes from
minature to GIANT
A little history
Ferns as we understand them, first came into being 360 million years ago. But the species group that contains about 80% off all extant species arose between 145 and 66 million years ago. Scientist Fay-Wei Li from Duke University believes this sucess, in a time when flowering plants were already an abundant and dominating force in the ecosystem, could be due to a gene stolen from another ancient plant.
Ferns are found in the shade of forests, and more recently, gardens worldwide. Unlike most plants who compete for any scrap of sunshine the fern found a niche for itself in the shadows. They can do this by using neochromes, which allows the plants photoreceptors to use both blue and red light. Which means the light that does reach the plant can be more effectively utilized by the fern while surrounding plants photoreceptors only use parts of the color spectrum. As the more light a plant has access to the better its chances, the fern has a distinct advantage in the shady undergrowth.
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- Reference
- “Ferns Borrowed Genes to Thrive in Low Light.” Duke Today, today.duke.edu/2014/04/hornwort. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.