The "Fern Canyon Trail" to the "Falls Loop" at Mendocino's breathtaking Russian Gulch State Park offers a winding creekside path through thick green foliage dwarfed by towering second growth coast redwood trees that appear to stretch into the sky. We were lucky to traverse the enchanting path ourselves yesterday--a crisp November morning--and caught sight of something I'd always wanted to witness but, surprisingly, until this point had not found myself in the right place at the right time to see.
Can you see the tiny dust-link particles in the dark spaces beneath the fern frond in the photos, below? Take a closer look...
This "Western Sword Ferns" (Polystichum munitum) is sporing! That is, it is releasing spores into the passing breeze--a reproductive phenomenon that I had yet to witness in "real life," despite countless hikes along trails thick with a delightful variety of fern species.
Here are some videos I captured of the phenomenon:
So magical! Like fairy dust...
What are you seeing here?
Well, the “Western Sword Fern” reproduces primarily by way of spores, which form in numerous tiny rows of rust-colored clusters called “sori” on the underside of its fronds. Once conditions are appropriately moist (typically in the Fall), spores are released from the sori and into the air. If conditions are appropriately moist, the spores land and germinate into small plants called “gametophytes”. Interestingly, these gametophytes produce both female and male reproductive structures, and when wet, sperm from the male structures can travel to the female structures and complete fertilization. The result is a “zygote”, which develops into a “sporophyte”—or the bushy fronded plant that we recognize as a “fern”.
Truly a fascinating and complex process for such evolutionarily ancient plants!
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