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
Phil Ferns season, 1984-85, he made six starts and two substitute appearances as Blackpool finished runners-up and won promotion to Division Three. His final appearance for "the Seasiders" came on 23 February, a 1–0 victory at home to Southend United. After retiring from professional football, Ferns became a police officer with Hampshire Constabulary, and then later Dorset Police. Phil Ferns Philip David Ferns (born 12 September 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left back in the Football League. Liverpool-born Ferns signed for Sam Ellis's Blackpool, who were then in the Fourth Division, in the summer of 1983.