Like feathers, the leaves of most ferns are delicate and divided. While this image fits many ferns, others look very different. Some have leathery, undivided leaves. Others may be as tiny as a moss or as large as a tree. In addition to the shady woods of our region, ferns are found in many places.
Most ferns are tropical, often growing upon the trunks and branches of trees.
A few ferns are aquatic. Some even occur in the desert tucked under rocks out of the heat of the sun. Although various kinds of ferns have different leaves, grow to different sizes, and are found in different places, nearly all can be recognized in two ways. First , ferns can be recognized by their production of spores, tiny, one-celled reproductive bodies produced in small spore cases. These cases are clustered together into brownish spots called sori, which are often located on the lower sides of leaves.