Perennial, Flowerless plants, Ferns are the “old men” of the kingdom. Long before the appearance of man, great forests of giant ferns covered the earth.
Today all that remains of these dense jungles are vast beds of coal, formed by the decay of the plants when they were submerged by floodwaters.
However, quite a few of the descendants of these prehistoric ferns still thrive & over 10,000 species have been identified.
Ferns are ideal for damp, low spots by fences, shady areas under trees, on the north side of houses, & indoors where light is filtered & temperatures fairly low. Some , of course are strictly tropical & must be grown in greenhouse in temperate climates.
But many of them will thrive in cool, shady, moist spots, even swampy areas.
Some hardy types, such as a resurrection fern, seem to die under hot dry conditions but spring into action life as soon as water is supplied.
Care To Plant 