Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CLXXV · Topic 26: Ferns, horsetails and mosses
175. How a fern bud unfolds
Goal: Your child watches a fern fiddlehead unroll over several days and records each stage in drawings.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A piece of colored yarn to mark a fiddlehead
- A camera or phone (optional)
What's in the book
A short Teacher's Story about fern crosiers (“fiddle heads”) with a photograph of young ferns unfolding, and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and three questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Comstock says May is best, when woodland ferns are starting; bracken sends up new crosiers into September. Choose a fern in your yard, or one in a park where you can return every day or two.
Safety: don't eat fiddleheads you find. Some kinds are harmful, and bracken fiddleheads are poisonous.
The leading thought
All of the parts of the frond of a fern are tightly folded spirally within the bud, and every lobe of every leaflet is also folded in a spiral.
A young bud
Take a very young bud. How does it look?
Can you see why they are popularly called “fiddle heads?” What is their true name? How many turns of the coil can you count?
Their true name is crosier, after a bishop's curled staff. Look at the coil with the lens without picking it.
Its coat
What is the covering of the crosier? Do you think this cover is a protection?
Spirals inside spirals
Take a crosier a little further advanced. How are its pinnae folded? How is each pinnule of each pinna folded?
Is each smaller part coiled toward each larger part?
Comstock's method says to bring a fern root indoors to watch. Instead, tie yarn loosely around the stem of one crosier outdoors so you can find it again.
Nature notebook
Write in your note-book the story of the unfolding fern, and sketch its stages each day from the time it is cuddled down in a spiral until it is a fully expanded frond.
Afterwards
Visit the marked crosier every day or two until it is fully open (usually a week or two). Add a dated sketch each time.
Tip
After a walk through woods or tall plants, check everyone for ticks.