Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

The Boston Fern is the 'Bostoniensis' cultivar of the sword fern, discovered by chance in an 1894 Boston shipment and prized for its lush, arching fronds that can reach 3 feet long. It thrives in humid conditions and is one of the most popular indoor ferns worldwide.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Nephrolepidaceae
Genus: Nephrolepis
Species: Nephrolepis exaltata