Sing to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree:
Oh Christmas fern, oh Christmas fern
How evergreen your fronds!
Oh Christmas fern, oh Christmas fern
How evergreen your fronds!
Your stocking toe reminds us
That Santa always finds us.
Oh Christmas fern, oh Christmas fern
How evergreen your fronds!
After most plants have turned brown and lost their leaves, you will find Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) draping the west slope of Wildwood Park all during the winter months. The rich green fronds are easy to find among the dried brown leaves.
The “stockings” with toes clinging in an alternating pattern along the stem are a sure clue that you have identified this plant correctly.
Christmas ferns remain green during all seasons. In April you can look for their “fiddle heads” uncurling above the green leaves. (On a violin, the "fiddle head" is called a scroll.)
In June begin looking on the undersides of the leaflets. When you find spores, you will know that the plant will reproduce and continue the plant’s life cycle. You may find spores though the fall perhaps as late as October. Christmas ferns are certain to keep you singing a song about Wildwood Park in all seasons!
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