How to Grow and Care for Whisk ferns

Because they thrive in similar habitats, the whisk Fern can be confused with Cytisus and Carmichaelia; however, it can be differentiated by its absence of roots. Its Latin name, Psilotum nudum, means "bare naked" since it appears to lack most of the organs seen in conventional vascular plants.

Flatfork fern is a primitive vascular plant resembling ferns and horsetails, with simple, leafless green stems branching dichotomously. This species thrives in shaded, humid environments, where its rhizoids (root-like structures) efficiently anchor into the soil, allowing for the absorption of water and nutrients. Distinctively, flatfork fern lacks true leaves and roots, a characteristic of ancient plant lineages, and reproduces through spores, indicating an evolutionary past deeply entwined with the earliest terrestrial ecosystems.