Ferns

A photo essay.

Spend any amount of quality time outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, and you’ll be spending some time with ferns. Although the ubiquitous plant is strongly associated with the temperate rainforests of the western part of the region, numerous different species also thrive in the drier eastern areas. About 40 altogether.

Just like the trees here, there are both deciduous and evergreen fern species, but all reproduce via spores as opposed to seeds or flowers. Similar to salal and many other native plants, they’ve been used for crafting, food, and medicine for millennia.

Most ferns are leptosporangiate, meaning they produce coiled fiddleheads that uncoil and expand into fronds. And those unfurling fiddleheads will probably have their own dedicated essay someday. For now, there’s a teaser or two in this collection, as well as some of my other favorite fern photos.