Christmas Fern Facts: Know Your Native Ferns Better!

Christmas is celebrated with great joy all over the world on December 25th.

Christmas is celebrated to mark the birth of Jesus Christ, but have you ever heard of Christmas ferns? Christmas ferns have a central stem whose entire surface is covered in brown scales.

Christmas fern is present in small colonies across the forest floor and stream banks where there is part or full shade. Ferns are evergreen leaves. Christmas fern is primarily dark green in color. Basically, ferns are green in color and are not flowering plants. The Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is an evergreen deciduous fern that grows on USDA trees.

Christmas ferns are perennial and evergreen plants. They have an average height of around 1.5-2 ft (0.5-0.6 m) and even 3 ft (0.9 m) sometimes. The leaf of a Christmas fern is dark green in color. They are present mostly in rich and rocky woods, as well as swamps, thickets, etc. The fern spores help in the reproduction of Christmas ferns.

The upper surface of a fern is called a frond. These are essentially expanded leafy structures. The lower surface is paler and hairless in appearance. Ferns primarily have two kinds of fronds, fertile frond, and sterile frond.

Christmas ferns have many ornamental uses, such as borders, accents, and groundcovers. It is one of the native ferns of North America. This plant is basically called 'Christmas fern' because of its fronds that maintain their color.

What are Christmas ferns? What are their decorative uses? Are Christmas ferns evergreen? Do you know they contain spores for reproduction? Read on for answers to these questions.

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Classification Of Christmas Fern

Christmas ferns are a type of garden plant. These ferns remain vibrant green even at the time of Christmas, which is in the winter. Christmas ferns contain fronds that darken with age. Christmas ferns are further classified into many types.

The scientific name of the Christmas fern is Polystichum acrostichoides. Partial shade helps them grow. Many types of Christmas ferns are present, such as shield ferns Polystichum, marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis), Cinnamon fern, sensitive fern, New York fern, Eastern hay-scented fern, Intermediate wood fern, Ebony spleenwort, Polypodiales, Lycophyte, common ferns, scaly tree ferns, Marattiaceae, Spleenworts, water ferns, Brake family, Horsetails, Osmunda, mosquito ferns, tree ferns, and bracken, wood ferns. The green leaves or fronds are present on all these ferns, and the leaves are lance-shaped in appearance.

Taking Care Of Christmas Fern

Have you ever thought about how to grow a Christmas fern? It is a deciduous evergreen fern. The Christmas fern is called so because many of its parts are dark green and remain green all over the years. These fronds reach up to a height of 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m).

So how do you grow a Christmas fern? They grow best where there is a lot of shade and little sunlight. Although ferns can tolerate a little bit of sunlight, they do not do well in direct sunlight. Christmas ferns are best grown in partial shade. These Christmas ferns need moist soil and good drainage.

Ferns grow on moist soil and are very good for erosion control. Christmas ferns are planted 18 in (45.7 cm) apart and even much deeper to hold the roots. How to care for ferns? Ferns need to be watered in order to keep the soil moist. Ferns require good drainage in the soil to grow. There are spores present that help them reproduce without any interference required.

Wildlife Is Attracted To Christmas Fern

Have you thought that ferns attract wildlife? Among the various plants present in the forest, do the ferns attract the animals? If so, how?

Basically, fern plants do attract wild animals, as the fern plants provide a kind of shelter for ground birds, and some animals, like frogs, use them as a hiding place as well. When nothing else is available in the winter, the new fronds are consumed by some animals. These new fronds of a fern plant are mostly eaten by white-tailed deer. The young evergreen new fronds are also eaten by a wild turkey. Even the grouse eats the Christmas fern.

Reproduction in the life cycle of these plants depends on their spores. Their spores appear when the weather conditions are suitable, especially between the months of June to October, especially during the spring.

How To Decorate A Fern For Christmas

Ferns, whether fertile fronds or sterile fronds are both used for decoration. Ferns serve many ornamental purposes as well. They can be used as glossy foliage for holly.

These can be attached to papers, and ornaments can be made out of them. Fern leaves can be used as a centerpiece as well. People across the world use ferns in various ways to enhance the appearance of their homes during Christmas. Garlands can be created out of the fern fronds.

Apart from that, Christmas fern has some medicinal uses as well, to treat pneumonia, toothaches, stomachaches, fevers, and convulsions. Christmas ferns act as ornamental plants and have wide-ranging uses for decorative purposes. These ferns are also used as biofertilizers to enrich the quality of the soil.

Also, do you know how they protect the environment? Research is going on, on the subject of Christmas ferns having the ability to remove chemical pollutants from the atmosphere.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Christmas fern facts then why not take a look at why do chickens lay eggs, or why do dogs paw at you.