Herb a Day Campaign: Adder's Tongue Fern | Ophioglossum vulgatum

Herb a day Campaign : Lets talk Herbs! Adder’s Tongue Fern. This girl is old. Like old old!! I don’t think she will mind us discussing her age honestly though. She has been around. Talk about being a fly on the proverbial wall of humanity! You can tell her nothing! Periodt! She’s seen it all, or at least a whole damn lot of it. These ferns can boast having the highest chromosome number of any living thing on Earth. 1,260 chromosomes to be exact! Can you even begin to imagine the infinite wisdom contained in all of that information?? Humans have a humble 46 chromosomes (mostly) and us as a species are completely mind blowing. “How is this so, Dusti” you might be asking. “How do they have so many chromosomes”? Well, it comes from the process of “Polyploidy”. Essentially, the cell nuclei of of an organism ends up with more than the usual two sets of chromosomes. Evolution ain’t no joke. It happens to ensure the survival of the species. We can’t even really see the effects of evolution on us as far back as we are able to see our human race. There have been some basics here and there and look how long those took. Adder’s Tongue Fern s have seen this process through at least 10 times. 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10 times! Now that’s impressive.. These guys are so ancient and so primitive that genetic sequencing shows they aren’t even “true ferns”. Or, what we see as true ferns. But hey, the genes don’t lie. They have been given their own division called Ophioglossophyta instead of the usual Pteridophyta. So, there’s a little tidbit of info for your noggin. How about you look at the plants around you. Sit with them. Talk to them (I tell mine they are beautiful). Learn about them and what can do for you. I know I am here to be of service to every one of you. So are the plants. I don’t think we can thrive without them. Get closer to all things that we get to live with. People, animals, water, plants, the actual earth itself. It’s no mistake we are all here together. #herbs #fern #adderstonguefern #herbalist #masterherbalist #dallasherbalist #dandylionemporium #dustigregory #askanherbalist #dallaslife #natural #nature #consciousliving