One of the highlights of spring at the Indiana Dunes National Park, is the progress the emerging ferns make in such a short time. In a shaded area just outside of the wetlands in Cowles Bog, a rather large group of ferns has taken hold and flourished.
I find myself visiting a few times each spring to see the fiddleheads unrolling, and marveling at the detail of each one. They're all slightly different, but an astonishing feature is that each of the small leaves of the larger frond looks exactly like a miniature version of the frond itself.
They're especially interesting to me when backlit by the morning sun, as the light shines through the translucent leaves.
They're especially interesting to me when backlit by the morning sun, as the light shines through the translucent leaves.
On this particular visit, I spent about three hours photographing these particular fiddleheads. For reference, each one is about the size of a U.S. quarter, and packed with details. I'm not exactly certain how long it takes for the fiddleheads to open up, but I'm sure it's relatively quick. Once open, these ferns will reach a height of six feet!
Walking through this area in summer reminds me of a trip through the Jurassic period of geologic time. Ferns date back to the Devonian period (about 360 millions years ago), but the current type of fern appeared around the Cretaceous period (145 million years ago). So, they really are a prehistoric life form.
Similar to the freezing of Illinois waterfalls, and the icing of Lake Michigan Lighthouses, the unrolling ferns are something that I look forward to each year. Unlike the cold weather-dependent subjects, the ferns are much more reliable, almost to the calendar date each year.
With the increase in visitors to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and the very limited parking at Cowles Bog, it's getting a bit more difficult to see the ferns, but arriving early and being patient waiting for a spot to open up is worth the effort.
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