Class
Polypodiopsida (Ferns)
Polystichum californicum. Photo: (c) John Game, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta /ˌpɒliˌpɒdiˈɒfɪtə, -əˈfaɪtə/) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses and other bryophytes by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase. Ferns have complex leaves called megaphylls, that are more complex than the
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