On Friday, I was privileged to attend a presentation on Shelby County (Alabama) ferns by Sarah Johnston from the Birmingham Fern Society. Much to my amazement I learned that we have 31 officially documented fern species just in our county and there are probably more that haven't been officially counted yet. I also learned that ferns have an entirely different vocabulary from other plants. For instance, ferns don't have a stem, they have a "stipe," they don't have leaves, they have "pinna."
I love growing ferns in my garden. After attending this presentation I went out to count my fern species. I have 18 different varieties, 9 of which are natives, and a few that I don't really even know what they are (I learned from Ms. Johnston that it is sometimes difficult even for experts to identify a specific fern).
Here are a few photos of my ferns. Apologies to the experts (and my ferns) if I have mis-identified them.
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| Resurrection fern--native |
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| Bracken fern--native |
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| Japanese painted fern |
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| Christmas fern--native |
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| Southern lady fern--native |
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| Sensitive fern--native |
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| Southern maidenhair--native |
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