The Sydney Fernery

#sydneytrip Relaxing place. Ferns and their close allies, the mosses were amongst the earliest vascular plants to colonise the earth more than 350 million years ago. The word fern comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word ‘fearn’ meaning feather, which refers to the delicate compound leaves known as fronds that are found on some ferns. If you take a closer look at the underside of many fern’s fronds you might find brown sunken or raised spots. Don’t worry! These are not signs of some terrible pest or disease, but a unique characteristic of ferns called sori, their patterns are one of the key ways to identify fern species.