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
Eddie Ferns Eddie Ferns Edward 'Eddie' Ferns (born 18 April 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a winger for Clyde. Ferns began his footballing career at Drumchapel Amateur, and signed with Alloa Athletic on 14 September 2012. He made his senior debut a day later, in a 0–2 home loss against Stenhousemuir, and was a part of the side who achieved promotion to the Scottish Championship in his first season. He made his Championship debut on 24 August 2013, scoring the last of a 3–1 home win over Cowdenbeath. On 25 February 2015, Ferns moved to Scottish League Two side,