Ferns
Ferns have been around an estimated 350-million (or more) years. Fern leaves are called fronds. Fronds are made of a stipe and rachis. The stipe is the stalk that connects the frond to the fern and the rechis is the leafy part. In these pictures, you can see the fronds turned upward, curling around almost. What is all that orange stuff on the bottom?
Well, ferns are sporophytes. A sporophyte reproduces using spores and these fronds were covered in sporangia. Each sporangium is a sac-like structure where the spores are formed and stored. The little round, flowery-looking bit is the indusium which protects the sori (the spore-producing receptacles).
In the gallery below, you can find a jack-in-the-pulpit bloom with a sporangium stuck to the spadix of the plant – which I didn’t notice until post. There is also a daddy long leg hanging out on a fern. And, some microscopic image of sporangia thanks to Amber Stubbs.
