Fern Frenzy

Despite admittedly limited knowledge on ferns, these non-flowering plants have garnered my appreciation on many occasions. I distinctly remember gathering armfuls of spent bracken fern to add insulation to my otherwise frigid winter shelter once while November camping in college. Pieces of brown fronds and stems fell out of my clothes and camping supplies for days after returning to my dorm. Meanwhile, for years now in springtime, I've carefully plucked ostrich fern fiddleheads from abundant patches along local rivers and creeks as delicious seasonal eating. On every visit to the Forest Lodge Estate on the south shore of Lake Namakagon, I've smiled at the elegant little fronds of the northern maiden hair ferns which straddle the rustic roadways throughout the property. 

I once spent over twenty minutes identifying an unknown fern, which I had only captured by photograph, while dragging my tired body up the steep sandstone cliffs of southwestern Wisconsin's Perrot State Park. After sifting through my collection of photos months later, the strange fern stuck out like a sore thumb among images of familiar plants and faces. Who could this cute little cliff-dweller be? Like any good naturalist, I leaned into my curiosity to explore further until I learned that it was a smooth cliffbrake. This special-to-me fern joined my small list of familiar fern species. I share these small anecdotes about ferns because much like me, there are plenty of other people out there who, after direct experiences, drive themselves to learn about these plants out of pure curiosity.

This little plant caught my attention during a break between steps
up steep sandstone cliffs in southwestern Wisconsin. Smooth
cliffbrake (Pellaea glabella) is rather distinctive in structure. Note that
this species is not found in Bayfield County.

Just this week, I worked with two ladies who were inspired to explore our area's fern diversity after attending a recent Museum workshop on ferns. While the experience was more structured than a typical romp outside - with field identification and instruction from a bona fide botanist - I'm lead to believe that the experience was nothing short of magical. Once the ladies divulged to me their interest in ferns, a switch turned on. The two have since launched into planning mode, and now all three of us have entered into a state of fern frenzy.

Where will our curiosity take us? With nearly 50 fern species observed in Bayfield County, and 15 of those species currently represented in the Museum's collection, the two volunteers will cross field and forest to search for new specimens. 

I can't wait to see which species they will bring back to our herbarium. The new finds will not only help us to maintain concrete records of local species and provide identification resources for the Museum's constituents, but perhaps most importantly, they'll also fuel continued curiosity about the fantastic ferns lying beneath our feet or cliffside above us!