Most of our local species have a rhizome , an underground, horizontal STEM from which the roots and branches arise. Their leaves, while tiny, are true leaves with a vascular system. Most have an underground rhizome with vertical stems. Many species have whorls of smaller branches at the joints of the stems, thus resembling upside-down horse s tails. A fiddlehead or crozier is a developing baby fern leaf.
Most ferns have horizontal stems or rhizomes.
Some ferns having vertical stems are called tree ferns. Note that the ancestors of these primitive plants were present back in dinosaur times, and the structures of the modern plants have changed little since then. For more information on plant taxonomy, check out this site on Systematic Botany at the University of Maryland. All rights reserved. This page has been accessed times since 16 Mar 2001.