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
Bishop of Ferns the Reformation, there are parallel apostolic successions. In the Church of Ireland, Ferns was united with Leighlin in 1597 to form the bishopric of Ferns and Leighlin. In the Roman Catholic Church, the bishopric of Ferns continues as a separate title. The current Incumbent is the Most Reverend Denis Brennan, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns, who was appointed by the Holy See on 1 March 2006 and was ordained bishop on 23 April 2006. Bishop of Ferns The Bishop of Ferns () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Ferns in County