Older than Old

This is my favorite plant waking up this spring. You can almost catch a fern first poking from the dirt, then lazily stretching out it's fronds one by one. Doesn't this one look like it's still a bit dozy---needs a cup of coffee, don't bother it yet?

Ferns are the most basic of plants---were some of the first on the planet. That makes them different and special. They don't depend on anything else to pollinate or breed---a bit of wind and everything's all taken care of; the billions of spores are carried off.

But just because the flowers are missing doesn't mean that the plants are not beautiful. There is nothing more entrancing and tropical than a landscape of ferns---especially in this section of Indiana.

Ferns---ancient plants unfolding in Indiana today.

Ferns of the Bog

There are still some green ferns left in the bog even though most of them have died off.

Ferns are fascinating. They don't flower; instead they have tiny back spores that they release into the wind. The spores can be seen as tiny black specks about the size of  poppy seeds on the back of the fronds.

Ferns are ancient plants that have changed very little over the years.