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
Ryan Ferns Ryan Ferns Ryan James Ferns (born December 2, 1982) is an American politician from the state of West Virginia. He was a member of the West Virginia Senate. Ferns was defeated for reelection in 2018 by Democratic candidate William J. Ihlenfeld II. Ferns was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2010, as a member of the Democratic Party. He switched his allegiance to the Republican Party in November 2013. In 2014, he challenged Democrat Rocky Fitzsimmons in an election to the West Virginia Senate. Ferns defeated Fitzsimmons. He was chosen as the West Virginia Senate Majority