← Back to catalogue
Research draft

fern

vr.tr.fern · PHY.LIV

any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems #plant

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

Let an agent identify ferns as a plant group, explain their life cycle and main families, relay cultivation, conservation and toxicity information from botanical and horticultural sources, and separate ferns from mosses, clubmosses and flowering plants.

Any of a large group of seedless vascular plants that reproduce by spores, with roots, rhizomes and fronds that unfurl from coiled fiddleheads; ferns grow in forests, wetlands, rock crevices and gardens on every continent except Antarctica, from tiny filmy ferns to tree ferns, and have an ancient fossil record.

What it is for: Not for anything; a plant group, though used in gardens and some as food.

It can be identify fern groups and common species; explain the spore life cycle; relay cultivation and care guidance; relay conservation and toxicity information.

Distinguishing features

Spore reproduction with a free-living gametophyte

Vascular tissue without seeds or flowers

Fronds and fiddleheads

Ancient lineage

What it looks like

Plants with divided fronds arising from a rhizome, spore cases on the frond undersides, and young fronds coiled as fiddleheads.

Physical character

species: about 10000 species

height: a few centimetres to over 20 m - tree ferns at the top

How it is recognised

Fronds unfurling from fiddleheads

Spore clusters on the underside of fronds

Mosses lack vascular tissue; clubmosses and horsetails are related but distinct groups

Related models

is a kind of - seedless vascular plants

vascular plant

is contrasted with - non-vascular plants

moss

is related to - a related seedless group

horsetail

is confused with - lycophytes, a separate lineage

clubmoss

In practice

Families and kinds

tree ferns

filmy ferns and bristle ferns

aquatic ferns

epiphytic ferns such as staghorns

garden and house ferns

fossil ferns and fern-like plants such as Pecopteris

Identifiers

taxon Polypodiopsida class of ferns in current classifications

Standards and regulation

CITES listings for tree ferns and some species

National wild plant protection laws

Plant health rules on movement of plants

Failure modes and hazards

Toxicity of bracken to livestock and carcinogens in bracken

Invasive ferns in some regions

Over-collection of wild ferns

Misidentification of edible fiddleheads

Analytical facets

substance
living
origin
natural
agency
inert
mobility
not-applicable
scale
not-applicable
affordances
observable

Also called

pecopterisfilmy fernfilm fernbristle fernhare's-foot bristle fernTrichomanes boschianumkidney fernTrichomanes reniformeflowering fernosmundroyal fernroyal osmundking fernditch fernFrench brackenOsmunda regalisinterrupted fernOsmunda clatoniacinnamon fernfiddleheadfiddlehead fernOsmunda cinnamoneacrape fernPrince-of-Wales fernPrince-of-Wales featherPrince-of-Wales plumeLeptopteris superbaTodea superbacrepe fernTodea barbaracurly grasscurly grass fernSchizaea pusillapine fernAnemia adiantifoliaclimbing ferncreeping fernHartford fernLygodium palmatumclimbing maidenhair

+334

Where this came from

oewn:2024 · CC BY 4.0

Registry entry point

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Identify What fern this is.

Identity.

Group

Group and species.

Group

Group.

  1. Which group or species is it, and what features identify it? definition
  2. Is the plant a fern, a moss, a clubmoss or a flowering plant? boundary

Structure

Structure.

Structure

Structure.

  1. What are the frond, rhizome, sorus and fiddlehead, and how do they vary? definition
  2. Which entry fits a specific species? action
Biology Life cycle and ecology.

Biology.

Life cycle

Spores and gametophytes.

Lifecycle

Lifecycle.

  1. How does the fern life cycle alternate between sporophyte and gametophyte? definition
  2. Which entry fits alternation of generations? action

Ecology

Habitats.

Ecology

Ecology.

  1. Where do ferns grow, and what roles do they play in ecosystems? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance
Use Cultivation and use.

Practice.

Cultivation

Growing ferns.

Cultivation

Cultivation.

  1. How are ferns grown in gardens and homes, and what conditions do they need? provenance
  2. Which entry fits horticulture? action

Food and toxicity

Edible and toxic ferns.

Food

Food.

  1. Which ferns are eaten, and what toxicity warnings do authorities give? provenance
  2. Is the user asking about a specific foraged plant, which needs expert identification? boundary
Conserve Conservation and history.

Conservation.

Conservation

Protection.

Conservation

Conservation.

  1. Which ferns are protected, and what threats do they face? provenance
  2. Which entry fits plant conservation? action

History

Evolution and culture.

History

History.

  1. What is the fossil history of ferns, and what role have they played in culture and Victorian fern collecting? provenance
  2. Which entry fits plant evolution? action

What the second pass must settle

  • Should major fern families be separate entries?
  • How should regional floras be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific filmy fern species; should they be split off?
Draft as JSON