Xerophytic Ferns at the UC Botanic Garden at Berkeley

Next up on my long weekend of garden touring last March (there’s a recap of our stops thus far at the bottom of this post) was the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley. I hadn’t visited the garden since 2014 and several things had changed in those 11 years. First up was a fabulous display of xerophytic ferns near the entrance.

 “We commonly associate ferns with moist habitats like forests, wetlands, and tropical rainforests, but there are actually species that thrive in desert environments.” (UCBG Berkeley website)

Truth be told dryland ferns are a big part of what pushed me into a love of ferns… it’s one thing to have a shady fern garden, but tell me that ferns can also be happy in the sun, next to an agave (or yucca) and I’m in, 100%!

I was so excited about this display that I had to photograph every fern and it’s label. I’m sure I tried the patience of my companions, Gerhard and , but I could not tear myself away. I was methodical in my documenting, and I also looked up every name online to make sure it looked reasonably like my photo as I completed this post. That said I heard from a dryland fern expert that the names assigned to these specimens were not completely accurate. Names change, people move signage, ferns are confusing and dryland ferns even more so. Still… I hope I’ve correctly identified the ferns in these photos and help to get you excited about the possibilities…