November
17th, 2014. I
spotted these as I was riding out one morning and didn’t want to stop; I’m
usually tired when I come back and forget about things close to home. The
fertile fronds on which the sporangia - that resemble a cluster of grapes –
were still green. By the time I remembered them again, the sporangia had
ripened to a yellowish color.
I counted about 8 to 10 plants in a
small area along the embankment and at the bottom of the drainage area. They
had been hidden in the grass and only exposed when the county mowers made their
Fall pass along the road.
There
were 8 plants in this field. You might be able to spot one of the larger
fertile fronds at the right edge of the large shadow just right of center.
Another plant is located just right and just a little higher up the slope.
One
of the larger plants.
A
closer view of a fertile frond.
A
couple of smaller plants with well-developed fertile fronds.
I’ve
seen this species most frequently in wooded areas where they were shaded with
some sun exposure. I was surprised and pleased to find these plants in such an
exposed area although they were shaded from full exposure to the sun by the
grass growing around them.
No comments:
Post a Comment