So.
None of you thought it *might* be important to tell me that ferns have sperm that swim??? I just had to find all this out on my own?
And, (apparently, & no one thought to bring this up either🙄) fern plants are only one form... they have this 'other form' (tiny, ephemeral, difficult to find in the wild) alternates generations-- Fern spores don't grow into ferns! (WHAT) they grow into 'gemetophytes' (WHAT) THEN you get a fern.
Feel like I've uncovered a massive scandal.
@futurebird oh yes!!! this lifecycle is actually quite similar to the moss lifecycle as well - plant reproduction basically just *massively* changed as the gymnosperms (non ovary encased seed havers, such as pine trees with their cones) and then ofc the angiosperms (who have flowers and ovary-encased seeds, usually leading to fruit) evolved, but *first* ferns evolved out of moss mostly in changing the vascular system and developing roots, instead of messing much with reproduction!
if you ever see mosses with long orange pokey bits sticking up, that's their own sporophyte phase!
I guess what's getting to me is I knew that non-vascular plants did this... but a fern has stems and they can be ... trees. So it kinda shocked me that they were acting like a moss.
@futurebird yeah!! it's super cool! ferns are one of my favorite plants for this reason. thanks for reminding me that i rly need to get some for my house hahaha
