Editing Fern (section)

== Culture ==

[[File:Nature print, Alois Auer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Ferns in the [[Victorian era]]: ''Blätter des Manns Walfarn'' by [[Alois Auer]], Vienna: Imperial Printing Office, 1853]]

=== Pteridology ===

The study of ferns and other pteridophytes is called '''pteridology'''. A '''pteridologist''' is a specialist in the study of pteridophytes in a broader sense that includes the more distantly related [[lycophyte]]s.

=== Pteridomania ===

[[Pteridomania]] was a [[Victorian era]] [[Fads and trends|craze]] which involved fern [[collecting]] and fern motifs in [[decorative art]] including [[pottery]], [[glass]], [[metal]]s, [[textile]]s, [[wood]], [[printing|printed paper]], and [[sculpture]] "appearing on everything from [[infant baptism|christening]] presents to [[gravestone]]s and memorials." The fashion for growing ferns indoors led to the development of the [[Wardian case]], a glazed cabinet that would exclude air pollutants and maintain the necessary humidity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Boyd |first=Peter D. A. |date=2 January 2002 |title=Pteridomania – the Victorian passion for ferns |url=http://www.peterboyd.com/pteridomania.htm |journal=Antique Collecting |version=Revised: web version |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=9–12 |access-date=2 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Other applications ===

[[File:Barnsley fern plotted with VisSim.PNG|thumb|right|[[Barnsley fern]] created using a [[chaos game]], through an [[Iterated function system]]<ref name=Fractals/>]]

The '''Barnsley fern''' is a [[fractal]] named after the British [[mathematician]] [[Michael Barnsley]] who first described it in his book ''Fractals Everywhere''. A [[Self-similarity|self-similar]] structure is described by a mathematical function, applied repeatedly at different scales to create a frond pattern.<ref name=Fractals>[https://books.google.com/books?id=oh7NoePgmOIC Fractals Everywhere], Boston, MA: Academic Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-12-079062-9}}</ref>

The dried form of ferns was used in other arts, such as a stencil or directly inked for use in a design. The botanical work, ''[[The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland]]'', is a notable example of this type of [[nature printing]]. The process, patented by the artist and publisher Henry Bradbury, impressed a specimen on to a soft lead plate. The first publication to demonstrate this was [[Alois Auer]]'s ''The Discovery of the Nature Printing-Process''.

[[Fern bar]]s were popular in America in the 1970s and 80s.

=== Folklore ===

Ferns figure in folklore, for example in legends about mythical flowers or seeds.{{sfn|May|1978}} In [[Slavic folklore]], ferns are believed to bloom once a year, during the [[Ivan Kupala Day|Ivan Kupala]] night. Although alleged to be exceedingly difficult to find, anyone who sees a [[fern flower]] is thought to be guaranteed to be happy and rich for the rest of their life. Similarly, [[Finland|Finnish]] tradition holds that one who finds the [[seed]] of a fern in bloom on [[Midsummer]] night will, by possession of it, be guided and be able to travel invisibly to the locations where eternally blazing [[Will o' the wisp]]s called ''[[aarnivalkea]]'' mark the spot of hidden [[treasure]]. These spots are protected by a spell that prevents anyone but the fern-seed holder from ever knowing their locations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/season5a.htm |title=Traditional Finnish Midsummer celebration |publisher=Saunalahti.fi |access-date=2013-09-07 |archive-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919201014/http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/season5a.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Wicca, ferns are thought to have magical properties such as a dried fern can be thrown into hot coals of a fire to exorcise evil spirits, or smoke from a burning fern is thought to drive away snakes and such creatures.<ref name="Cunningham">{{cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Cunningham |title=Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs |date=1999 |publisher=Llewellyn |page=102}}</ref>

=== New Zealand ===

Ferns are the national emblem of New Zealand and feature on its passport and in the design of its national airline, [[Air New Zealand]], and of its rugby team, the [[All Blacks]].