Outdoor Elements
A Fern for Christmas
Clip | 3m 26sVideo has Closed Captions
Unfurl the secrets of the Christmas fern! Discover their shady havens, from rocky slopes t
Unfurl the secrets of the Christmas fern! Discover their shady havens, from rocky slopes to hidden streams, and learn how these evergreen beauties feed forest creatures. Plus, find out why they're the perfect winter touch for your garden!
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana
Outdoor Elements
A Fern for Christmas
Clip | 3m 26sVideo has Closed Captions
Unfurl the secrets of the Christmas fern! Discover their shady havens, from rocky slopes to hidden streams, and learn how these evergreen beauties feed forest creatures. Plus, find out why they're the perfect winter touch for your garden!
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHo, ho, ho.
It's a couple of days from the first official day of winter, and there's snow on the ground.
And look what I found.
Beautiful green, leathery looking fern.
It just happens to be called Christmas Fern.
Perfect for this season.
It's a fern that stays green all winter.
Unlike the other ferns that we have in our eastern woodlands that turn brown and disintegrate after the first frost, Christmas Fern stays green even in the snow.
It's growing all over this hillside here at T.K.
Lawless County Park in Cassopolis, Michigan, called Christmas fern because it is green on Christmas.
A fun thing to look for if you find this green leathery fern is the fronds.
And sometimes if there's snow, you can actually see just a little bit poking out of the snow and you can kind of dig through the snow and you'll find the whole plant.
It grows in clumps, individual clumps.
And each leaf of a fern is called a frond.
And the frond is divided into little leaflets.
And those are called Pinnae.
And it is really interesting to take a look at the pinnae of a Christmas fern to help you remember the name, because each one of those little leaflets is actually shaped kind of like a stocking, a Christmas stocking, maybe.
Or if I turn it this way, Santa's sleigh.
Well, you can use your imagination, but it's a great way to help.
Remember this plant.
Even though it stays green all winter.
Mammals don't really feed on it, but there are some insects and caterpillars that feed on it.
In the growing season.
And to our north, it's said that it's a favorite food of Ruffed Grouse, especially the little fiddle heads.
That's the name of the frond's as they start to uncurl in spring.
The fiddle heads apparently are a tasty treat for ruffed grouse.
It does a great job of holding hillsides and preventing erosion, and sometimes you even find it along streams that loves moist, semi-moist conditions and it needs shade.
Full shade or partly shady conditions are ideal for Christmas Fern.
It's a great native plant to add to your landscape, so if you have a good native plant nursery near you, it's a wonderful fern to add to your gardens.
Don't dig it up, Don't dig it up from a park or a natural area.
But native nurseries often stock Christmas fern.
It is fun to look for if you've got snow, and especially if it's near Christmas.
Happy holidays.
Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements if you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana