Hong Kong has over 239 types of fern. Last year, we invited Smith Wong from 香港蕨類之友 HKFOF to co-organise a guided tour about ferns. Now it’s a chance for TrailWatch to introduce the three most commonly found ferns in Hong Kong’s wild.
Common Fern 1: False Staghorn Fern
Distribution and Habit: Commonly found on the margins of roadside or forests, and grow in abundance
Characteristics: Light green-colored leaves, each stem splits into two and looks v-shaped
Uniqueness: Heat tolerant and able to survive in infertile soil, for example, lands after hill fire. False Staghorn
Fern can help to keep the soil moist which improves the growing environment for other vegetation
Photo Location: Rotary Park Nature Trail https://www.trailwatch.hk/app/?t=activities&rid=10065936
Common Fern 2: Wood-fern / Parasitic Tri-vein Fern
Characteristics: Leaves covered by hairs. It can grow up to 1m height included the blade, the last pair of leaves (pinna) is relatively shorter and grow toward the ground
Uniqueness: Great adaptation, can grow under all sorts of environment including areas developed by humans, such as community parks
Photo Location: Chuen Lung Family Walk https://www.trailwatch.hk/app/?t=activities&rid=10128970
Distribution and Habit: Common in the edge of forests and the bottom of woods
Characteristics: Former parts of the blade are symmetrical but the latter parts grow into sickle-shaped
Uniqueness: Some of the leaves (pinna) look like the other half is missing, the appearance is like a flag and the Chinese name of this fern is “half a flag”.
Photo Location: Chuen Lung Family Walk https://www.trailwatch.hk/app/?t=activities&rid=10128970
The above sharing are from fern novices who are not experts. Plant identification cannot be learnt overnight, it takes a long time to learn their scientific terms. Ferns grow from spores without seeding or flowering, which makes their identification even more difficult. We often differentiate the species by their spores, leaves, hairs and scales but ferns have great variations in types and appearance, which require more time to observe other parts. Nevertheless, this challenging process makes their identification more entertaining. Beginners who want to learn more about the mysterious ferns, which lived together with dinosaurs, are recommended to read field guides or ask for help humbly over the internet.
Recommended Facebook Group: 香港蕨類之友 HKFOF 柴娃娃植物網