Fernling

Cuter in large ("L").

This is a baby fern frond; the Corpus Christi gardener gave me a little fern for my room, and four new fernlings* have emerged from the mossy soil in the last week, so I reckon it must be a pretty cheerful fern.

I took more interesting shots (with surroundings etc.), but the simplicity here appealed to me.

I love the way that new fronds unfurl; this mode of development is called circinate vernation. At this stage, the unfurling frond is called a crosier or fiddlehead.

*they're actually just new leaves from the existing plant, not new individuals...Perhaps this should be titled "Fern frondling".