A small fern glossary

A few names give you a way to describe the same details from one plant to another.

Botanical language becomes easier when it is attached to something visible. Use these short definitions alongside a real plant or a verified botanical photograph.

Frond

The leaf of a fern. It may be a continuous blade or divided into many smaller parts.

Stipe

The leaf stalk below the blade. Look for its colour, texture and any scales.

Rachis

The central axis through a divided frond, continuing above the stipe.

Rhizome

A stem from which roots and fronds develop. It may creep along a surface or grow more upright.

Sorus / plural sori

A group of spore cases. On many ferns, sori make visible patterns beneath mature fronds.

Crozier

A young frond while it is still coiled and beginning to unfurl; also called a fiddlehead.

A whole life beyond the frond

The familiar leafy fern is only one stage of its life cycle. Spores develop into a smaller gametophyte stage, which produces reproductive cells. Following fertilisation, a new leafy fern can develop. Kew describes these two phases in its account of the Tunbridge filmy fern. Kew: Hymenophyllum tunbrigense.

You do not need to memorise the entire vocabulary at once. Choose one term, find its structure, and add another when it becomes useful. Our plant profiles are a place to practise.