Midwest Ferns: A Field Guide to the Ferns and Fern Relatives of the North Central United States

Midwest Ferns is the first modern comprehensive field guide to the true ferns and fern relatives of the American midwest including the states of Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Minnesota Ohio and Wisconsin. Included are keys descriptions and illustrations for over 130 of the regions species of ferns and fern relatives: True Ferns in 18 families and 37 genera including typical ferns such as members of the Wood Fern Sensitive Fern Maidenhair Fern Cliff Fern and Spleenwort Families plus families now considered part of the true fern group - the Horsetail (Equisetum) and Adders-tongue Families (moonworts grapeferns).Fern Relatives in 3 families and 8 genera including members of the Clubmoss Quillwort and Spike-moss Families. Features - Introduction to fern terminology structure and life-cycleIllustrated keys to each family genus and speciesKey to ferns by habitat groupsArranged alphabetically by familySpecies fully described and illustrated with line drawings and b/w photographs to show the frond (leaf) and important reproductive parts such as the sorus and indusium and other diagnostic details such as vascular bundles in the stipe (leaf stalk) and close-ups of the pinna (leaf divisions)North American and Midwest region distribution maps for each species.