Ferns fascinate and captivate me. I am filled with joy coming upon an under-story full of ferns on a hike- as I did when taking the pinhole image below. Ferns are ancient plants; they have been around for more than 300 million years and perhaps this is why there is something venerable about a colony of ferns. The plant we see is the sporophyte or dominant generation which creates spores that scatter and begin the alternate generation with a heart shaped gametophyte. I have always loved that the new fern grows from a heart shaped prothallus. Growth emerging from a heart rooted in the right conditions is perhaps the most beautiful and true growth possible, but it takes time and patience as well as in some cases a little luck and cultivation. As a mother tending to the still forming hearts of my children I sometimes need a reminder that this is a slow process and that with patience we continue to cultivate the right conditions for growth our whole lives.
WEEK NINE NEW:
SPOROPHYTE 2017
WEEK NINE OLD:
WILD SPOROPHYTES CIRCA 2008