Resurrection Fern

We have quite a few ferns that grow here in the southeastern United States, and they come in a lot of shapes and sizes. One of the smallest ones you’ll see is the resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides). Also known as the miracle fern, it’s common around here and it tends to grow on dead trees, logs, twigs, and sometimes the bark of living trees. It’s called resurrection fern because when things get dry the leaves will turn brown and shrivel up making them look dead. As soon as it rains, though, they get green again and grow into what can look like a small rain forest growing twig. With their light lime green color they are really quite pretty when well hydrated, but when you look at them really close up through the macro lens you can really see the reddish brown spores that make it even more attractive.