A fern from a Pacific island carries 50 times as much DNA as humans do. Tmesipteris oblanceolata, a fern growing in a forest on an island east of Australia. “It doesn’t catch the eye,” said Jaume ...

Ferns are among the oldest living plants, with fossil records dating back 383 to 393 million years ago. These plants are resilient and have survived volcanic eruptions and cold climates thanks to ...

A small, unassuming fern-like plant has something massive lurking within: the largest genome ever discovered, outstripping the human genome by more than 50 times 1. Study co-author Jaume Pellicer, an ...

A printed version of the entire human genome would fill 220 large books. To do the same for a small, seemingly unremarkable fern found on a few Pacific islands would require nearly 11,000 books. The ...

Elizabeth has worked since 2010 as a writer and consultant covering gardening, permaculture, and sustainable living. She has also written a number of books and e-books on gardens and gardening. During ...

Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant. The fern, Cyathea ...

Land plants evolved 470 million years ago from algae and have since reshaped our world. Throughout their evolution, ferns have undergone a series of changes that have helped them survive on land. For ...

Master gardener Wesley Gladhart turned his Metairie backyard into a fern oasis. Here are his fern gardening tips. Advice for terrestrial or landscape ferns "Most of my ferns that are not epiphytes ( ) ...

There is something otherworldly about ferns. Their fronds suggest feathers and wings, and so when looking at them you may think of taking flight, most likely into the pre-historic past when they ...