Helminthostachys zeylanica

Native from tropical Asia into parts of Australia and the western Pacific, this terrestrial fern grows from a creeping underground rhizome with fleshy roots. Its frond combines a spreading, divided leafy portion with a separate upright fertile spike arising from the same stalk. Numerous small branches crowd the spike and carry rounded spore cases. These release yellow spores through vertical openings. The plant grows in moist ground, including poorly drained forest edges and river margins, and reproduces by spores. An early, non-green stage of its life cycle grows underground in association with fungi. It is critically endangered in Taiwan. Photographed in Florida.