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
Tasmanian ferns cool temperate rainforests, two species that are most commone are Hymenophyllum flabellatum, and Hymenophyllum rarum. Filmy ferns are epiphytic ferns that creep along rhizomes at the base of tree ferns and tree trunks. The fern is very thin with leaves only one cell thick. Given the delicate nature of these ferns they are prone to desiccation. They are therefore their distribution is limited to very humid moist habitats such as cool temperate rainforests. Slight changes in the ecology of Tasmania’s cool temperate rainforests could have a huge negative effect on filmy fern populations. "Dicksonia antarctica" is possibly one of the