
The Philippines has an unusually rich fern diversity. The National Museum records about 1,030 species of ferns and related plants in the country, including around 260 endemic species found nowhere else in the world.
Ferns don't produce flowers or seeds; they reproduce through spores. They can grow in environments ranging from mangroves and swamps to tropical forests and mossy mountain forests.
Their enormous variety also makes them useful as ornamental plants and sources of traditional materials.
A ρá†ch of forest can therefore contain far more fern diversity than is obvious at first glance.
© National Museum of the Philippines