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Download Imagine you are walking through a tropical rain forest. The air feels
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Imagine you are walking through a tropical rain forest. The air feels warm and damp. You hear insects buzzing and birds calling. You brush against a small, green, feathery plant. As you look around, there are lots of these plants growing on the forest floor. The plants described above are called ferns. There are many different kinds of ferns. They range in size from low-lying plants that can cover a forest floor to tree ferns that can grow very tall. Some tree ferns can grow up to 25 meters tall! Ferns have green leaves that are sometimes called fronds. Each frond is divided into smaller parts called leaflets. Leaflets look like tiny leaves, and they give ferns a feathery appearance. Many ferns grow in tropical rain forests where the environment is very moist. However, some ferns grow in cooler rain forests or areas where the seasons change. Some ferns can even grow between rocks! Now imagine again that you are in a tropical rain forest. You step closer to a fern to get a better look at it. You see lots of tiny brown spots on the leaves. Don't worry! These spots are not from a plant disease. They are sacs that hold plant parts called spores. Ferns produce clusters of spores instead of seeds. The clusters are often arranged in rows on the undersides of the leaflets. When the time is right, the spores break out of their sacs. They are carried by wind or water to new locations. If spores land on moist ground, they may grow into new fern plants. Ferns were once the main plant in ancient forests. They have been around for millions of years and can still be found in many places on Earth.