Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Status

Common

About

Sword ferns are leafy plants that grow in dense clusters on tropical forest floors. Each frond produces thousands of tiny spores that launch into the air when touched.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Polypodiopsida

Order

Polypodiales

Family

Nephrolepidaceae

Genus

Nephrolepis