Fern fern ("Onoclea sensibilis"). Giant water fern ("Salvinia molesta") is one of the world's worst aquatic weeds. The important fossil fuel coal consists of the remains of primitive plants, including ferns. Ferns have been studied and found to be useful in the removal of heavy metals, especially arsenic, from the soil. Other ferns with some economic significance include: The study of ferns and other pteridophytes is called pteridology. A pteridologist is a specialist in the study of pteridophytes in a broader sense that includes the more distantly related lycophytes. Pteridomania is a term for the Victorian era craze of fern collecting
Human uses of plants or dried flowers. Ornamental plants have sometimes changed the course of history, as in tulipomania. Basic biological research has often been done with plants. In genetics, the breeding of pea plants allowed Gregor Mendel to derive the basic laws governing inheritance, and examination of chromosomes in maize allowed Barbara McClintock to demonstrate their connection to inherited traits. The plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" is used in laboratories as a model organism to understand how genes control the growth and development of plant structures. NASA predicts that space stations or space colonies will one day rely on plants for life support. Scientific advances