You can’t
tell by the weather in rainy cold Central Pennsylvania, but there are signs
that spring may be late—but is just around the corner. There are buds on the
lilacs, the daffodils and grape hyacinths have bloomed, the lawns are becoming
lush, the birds are singing, and the fiddleheads are popping up. You can always
depend on the ferns to make you believe that the color green is just about to
explode all over the countryside.
It’s
believed the first ferns appeared in fossil records 360 million years ago in
the Devonian period, but many of the current species didn’t appear until
roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period, after flowering
plants came to dominate many environments. Throughout history, ferns have been
popular in medicine, art, mythology, landscaping, flower design and more.
Ferns
do not have seeds or flowers, but reproduce by spores. There are about 12,000
varieties worldwide, and fern is derived from Old English fear, meaning
“fern,” a type of leafy plant. Flower and plant names were popular in the 19th
century and the name was first used then.
For
various cultures, the fern is thought to symbolize discretion, confidence,
fascination, reverie, the secret bond of love, and magic.
I’m
hoping my fiddleheads are magical. I’m hoping they’ll grow fast and tall.
And I’m
hoping they’ll finally usher in a warm, colorful spring.
Twitter ID: JudyAnnDavis4
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