The fern walk on this relatively less humid day explored the splendors of ferns, the modern relatives of the giant plants that dinosaurs fed upon in ancient times. In central Virginia and at Ivy Creek they range in size from a few inches to nearly a yard in length. As we walked we saw the small Rattlesnake Fern, evergreen Christmas Ferns, ladderlike Ebony Spleenworts, ringlike Marginal Woodferns, lancelike New York Ferns, patches of Hay-Scented Ferns, Broad-Beech Ferns, fingerlike Sensitive Ferns, horseshoe-shaped Maidenhair Ferns, sometimes (because a lady gets to choose) pink-stemmed Lady’s Ferns, and the rare Spinulose Fern. All this in a slow 75 minute walk in shade!
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