How does fern reproduce?

To detail this, I’ll need to describe some of the parts of a fern. The leafy branch of the fern is usually called a frond. The small leaflets that make up the whole frond are called pinnae. If you look underneath a fern frond, you will often see small clumps, spots or patches that look like they are stuck onto the under surface of the pinnae. These patches are where you find the spores. The spores grow inside casings called sporangia. The sporangia may clump together into what are called sori (singular: sorus). Sometimes these sori follow the fern leaf veins, sometimes they are set into indentations in the underside of the pinna. Not every frond has spores under it: fronds that have the spores are called fertile fronds. If you take a piece of mature fertile fern frond and place it face up inside a book - or on a piece of paper under a weight - so that the spore material is on the underneath of the frond , then leave it overnight, you’re likely to find the next day that the spores ...  more