The fern-shaped division is made up of vascular plants, which include both modern and ancient higher ones. Now there are about ten thousand species of various ferns, widespread throughout the world, which can be found anywhere in the world.
General characteristics of fern-shaped species, names
Tropical rainforests have the best conditions for their growth. There are the largest number of species of ferns that grow not only on the soil, but even on the trunks and shoots of trees.
Fern-like plants can be found in crevices of rocks, in swamps, lakes, walls of houses, roadsides. Dark areas of rainforests are ideal for propagating lianoid and tree-like ferns, and perennial floating species live near water bodies. They do not attract attention, but they are omnipresent, due to their unpretentiousness to growth.
Ferns of our forests
In our latitudes, where the climate is temperate, tree-like ferns cannot be found, but there are many perennial herbaceous species of ferns. If you look at how many species of ferns are growing in Russia, there will be about a hundred of them. The most common ferns are the common ostrich, the coydiaceae female and Japanese, the male thyroid, mnogoryadniki, the scolopendra leaflet, the common bracken.
Fern-shaped plants differ from the simplest lower ones, such as algae, by the presence of a stem, roots and leaves, which have their own characteristics.
Stems, rhizomes and their structure
The stalk of ferns is not very developed. It is fragile and small in size. The exceptions, perhaps, are tropical tree-shaped ferns that look like upright trunks, at the top of which there is a small crown, consisting of fairly large leaves.
In most cases, grassy fern-shaped plants have a short stem called rhizome. Rhizomes are divided into two types, depending on the shape and location of the leaves and root.
The first type includes rhizomes, in which the subordinate root is located on the lower side, and the leaves are at the top. In the second type, the surface of the rhizome is uniformly covered with leaves and roots. Rhizomes of some species of fern can be poisonous.
Leaf features
The leaves, compared with the stem, are large and much more massive. In some species of ferns, leaves can grow up to thirty meters in length. Most fern leaves have a petiole and a dissected feathery plate, which has a stem, which is a kind of continuation of the petiole.
Young leaves growing from the rhizome have a twisted appearance. The apical growth of fern leaves remains for a long time. This fact is quite interesting, since such growth for the leaves of higher plants is absolutely not typical.
In addition to performing the functions of providing the plant with important organic substances, the leaves of some species of ferns are sporulation organs.
Breeding
There are types of ferns, the leaves of which can be completely different. On the same plant there are sterile leaves that do not have sporangia and leaves that have these sporangia. Such leaves are called fertile, in translation from the Latin language - fertilizing.
Spores in most species are located at the bottom of the back surface of the leaf. As with most higher plants, the process of reproduction in ferns occurs when the spores mature. Special formations where disputes develop are called sporangia. A large accumulation of spores located close to each other form soruses. They look like “bags” where disputes are stored.
After the spores have matured, they fall out, are swelled by the wind and fall into conditions that are comfortable for growth. Soon, a small green plate with a diameter of only a few millimeters, which is a fern overgrowth, forms from the sprouted spores.
Gametes
This growth begins an independent life, clinging to the soil with its filamentous formations. On its underside, female and male gametes develop (ova and sperm). By drops of water or dew, which is retained under the growth, sperm are delivered to the eggs, thereby making fertilization.
Fern gymnosperms are fundamentally different from other species. The main difference is the reproduction of plants by pollen, and gametes are inside it. Wind blows pollen over a long distance. Seeds are formed in cones, they do not have a shell, therefore they are called gymnosperms.
Peers dinosaurs
The fern-shaped department is very ancient; it, together with the rest of the plants, made up the plant surface layer of the soil. In the Carboniferous period, on the marshy areas of the forest, in addition to huge horsetails and pods, ancient ferns grew, whose height reached thirty meters.
On pieces of coal still imprints of large leaves of large tree-like ferns remain. Now the distribution of ferns is observed throughout the Earth, regardless of climate. They are found both in the hot tropics, and in the northernmost parts of the world.
Seasons have their effect on the fern plant. In the spring, it begins its growth and development, and closer to the fall, these processes stop. In most species, leaves die off, but there are species in which they overwinter and remain green, recalling that in a tropical climate, against the background of other constantly green plants, ferns also remain green all the time.
The name "fern" comes from a beautiful leaf shape similar to a feather. Unlike other higher spore plants, ferns are of great environmental importance in nature, for example, they are an important component of the forest ecosystem.
Household Application
The fern-shaped department is widely used in the economy. So the inhabitants of some countries use young shoots and the core of ferns, which have the appearance of a tree, as food. These parts are pickled and salted. For example, "Orlyak ordinary" is edible, which has a high content of proteins and starch in its leaves.
Many types of ferns are used as ingredients to create drugs against intestinal parasites. The root of the plant has a cleaning effect and is used to remove toxins and toxins, as well as treat ulcers, eczema, headaches, and wounds. The roots can contribute to the full restoration of the optimal functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Leaf decoration
Due to its large beautiful and dissected leaves, ferns are often used as decoration of gardens or parks. For example, the fern "Marsilia four-leafed" is used to decorate ponds and landed directly in the water. Fern, which has the name "nephrolepis" has long been used as a decorative indoor plant, attracting people with its large openwork leaves.
Aquatic ferns are widely used as decorations for aquariums. In addition to decor, such ferns play a crucial role in providing oxygen to the inhabitants. How many species of ferns would not be, all of them play an important role in the life of the forest.
Poisonous representatives
But you should be careful, because some types of ferns are poisonous. Plants of the thyroid family are the most dangerous, since the content of their rhizomes contains toxic derivatives of phloroglucin. Nevertheless, the thyroid gland has medical properties and is used to treat helminthiasis.
As we can see, they have a large number of useful properties, so ferns need to be protected. Visiting the forests and the park, you don’t need to cut off the growing fern to decorate bouquets, because the leaves of these ancient plants quickly collapse when damaged and lose their appearance.
The plant becomes unattractive, wilted, drooping and just thrown away. Due to such actions, the number of these oldest plants, having a mass of useful properties, is reduced. The unique characteristics of fern-shaped require to be treated with special sensitivity.