Ferns AIDGAP
Ferns AIDGAP features identification keys to all the wild ferns and allied plants of Britain and Ireland.
- Covers 59 species of ferns, 6 clubmosses, 3 quillworts and 8 horsetails
- Designed for living specimens in the field
- Illustrated with colour photographs and line drawings
Ferns are an essential group of plants for the improver botanist to tackle. Although a few species are highly distinctive, many species look similar to the fern novice, especially at a distance.
Designed to be taken out into the field, the Ferns AIDGAP guide starts with an introductory key to major groups. Further illustrated keys take identification to species level. Frond structure and shape are key to fern identification. In some species, the spore-bearing structures on the underside of the fronds are further useful clues.
Ferns and allied plants appeared 400 million years ago, around 250 million years before the flowering plants. Although ferns lack flowers and seeds, they are not primitive. Instead they spread through spores, a reproductive process shared with mosses and liverworts. The most visible parts are the spore-bearing leaves, or fronds.
This Ferns guide is part of the FSC’s AIDGAP series (Aids to Identification in Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants). The aim of AIDGAP series is to produce accessible keys suitable for non-specialists from age 16+. Although written by specialists, all AIDGAP guides go through field tests in draft form. As with all guides in the series, the Ferns AIDGAP underwent extensive testing before publication, by beginners and specialists alike. The author has revised this version in the light of the testers’ experience.
