| Oak-leaf Fern (Drynaria quercifolia) |
| This is an epiphytic
fern that produces fronds of two kinds - nest and foliage. Nest leaves are short-lived fronds that turn brown and hard, and persist as closely-overlapping 'armour plates' around the creeping rhizome. They also function as 'trappers' of debris and as 'funnels' directing nutrient-enriched run-offs of rain water from the tree canopy to the rhizome. Their resemblance to the leaves of the oak trees found in the temperate, gave the fern its common name. The long and feathery foliage leaves, on the other hand, serve as photosynthetic leaves and are capable of producing spores. |
