Vocabulary: » Term: » Records: » ID: 191

Click image to see larger image	Ferns attached to a forest rock
Location	http://bilbo.bio.purdue.edu/~npelaez/images/100727.JPG
Observations	Ferns have tiny, light green, spear-like, compound leaves.
Explanations	Ferns have small, branched leaves, not to reduce gas exchange and water loss, but to increase the surface area for spore producing structures. This demonstrates that plants develop certain characteristics for very different reasons.
California Standards	Know organisms depend on their environments Environmental factors effect plant development Diverse life forms
National Standards	Characteristics of living things Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Related NSF Exemplary Curriculum	New plants Habitats Investigating plants
Related Sets	Diversity of leaves
Creative Commons License	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.
Authors	Katie Hale khale92807@aol.com Student, Biological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton
Publisher	Biological Sciences, Nancy Pelaez, CSUF npelaez@fullerton.edu Jan 13 2007

This material is based upon work that was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0127164 to California State University Fullerton. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.