Fern plants. Like all other vascular plants, the diploid sporophyte is the dominant phase or generation in the life cycle. The gametophytes of ferns, however, are very different from those of seed plants. They are free-living and resemble liverworts, whereas those of seed plants develop within the spore wall and are dependent on the parent sporophyte for their nutrition. A fern gametophyte typically consists of: Ferns first appear in the fossil record in the early Carboniferous period. By the Triassic, the first evidence of ferns related to several modern families appeared. The great fern radiation occurred in the late Cretaceous, when
Ferns, County Wexford of modern Ireland stems from Ferns – Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster invited the Normans in 1169 to help him fight his battles (they never left) – he sealed the deal with his daughter Aoife’s marriage to Strongbow. Ferns has evidence of four distinct periods in Irish history. Archaeological digs have revealed habitations from the Bronze, Iron, early Christian and Norman eras. Ferns boasts many ecclesiastical sites dating from early Christian era through Norman and the Middle Ages. Heritage sites include The Grave of King Dermot MacMurrough For further information on Ferns Heritage http://www.fernsvillage.ie/ferns-heritage-page.html Ferns is located on the N11