June 29, 2011

Hart's Tongue Fern


The black stripes in this picture taken into the light are the spores of Hart's Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium). They grow as a brown, velvety, mass which contains thousands of them, on the backside of the fronds.






















Hart's tongue Fern doesn't like dry places, horizontal surfaces and sunlight, so it grows on slopes in the shadow of trees, often near a small stream or source.















In spring young fronds emerge from between the old ones.