Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
Ferns are among the few plants that reproduce via spores rather than seeds. The basic life cycle of a fern consists of alternating generations of sexual and nonsexual individuals. The gametophyte, the sexual stage of the fern life cycle that develops from spores, tends to be so small as to be inconspicuous. The larger, visible plants we know as ferns are actually the asexual stage of the fern’s life cycle, known as the sporophyte stage, which will produce the spores…