A park ranger's comment about native ferns stuck with me all week

I was out at Muir Woods last Saturday just wandering the trails, and this ranger pointed out how the western sword fern can grow up to 5 feet tall in the right damp spot. He said people walk past them every day without noticing the spore patterns underneath, and that hit different because I've been hiking there for 3 years and never once flipped a frond over. Now I can't stop checking ferns at the community garden near my route, and I found some sporophylls that look nothing like the ones he showed me. Has anyone else had a random expert comment totally rewire how you look at common plants?

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nancy81715d ago

Last month a guy at the local farmers market told me the dandelions in my yard were actually good for soup and not just weeds. I spent the whole afternoon digging up the roots and checking the leaves against a plant app on my phone. Turns out the ones in my backyard are a different variety than the ones he meant, so my soup tasted like dirt. But now every time I see a dandelion I stop and look at it, and I can't just mow them over anymore without feeling a little guilty.

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