Introducing Australian Ferns Lorraine Deppler Ferns are an ancient type of plant. They do not flower, but instead reproduce by means of spore. There are over 10,000 species of ferns world wide and the Australian flora consists of more than 400 species . There are many more variations in between these examples.
New fronds are tightly coiled and gradually uncoil as they grow.
The coiled frond is called a crozier or fiddlehead. On the under-surface of the fertile fronds are brown or yellow patches which may sometimes be mistaken for disease. These patches may be lines, dots or markings in a specific pattern or they may be found as a continuous line around the margin of the frond. The patches are groups of spore sacs which contain spore. It is these shapes and patterns that may be used to identify different families of ferns.