The American Fern Society was founded in 1893. Today, it has more than 1,000 members around the world, with various local chapters. Among its deceased members, perhaps the most famous is

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...

, who became a member in 1993. Willard N. Clute was the founder of the society, originally establishing it as the Linnaean Fern Chapter of the

Agassiz Association The Agassiz Association was a society founded in 1875 for the study of natural science, named for Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz. Its founder and first president was Harlan Hoge Ballard (1853–1934). History According to its Constitution ...

. The chapter had two comprehensive group meetings, one in 1898 and another in 1900. The chapter consisted of small regional divisions and circulated reports by mail from member to member. In 1905 the members of the Linnean Fern Chapter separated from the Agassiz Association and formed the American Fern Society. The society has published the ''

American Fern Journal The ''American Fern Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Fern Society The American Fern Society was founded in 1893. Today, it has more than 1,000 members around the world, with various local chapters ...

'', a technical botanical journal, since 1910. Before that, it published ''

The Fern Bulletin ''The Fern Journal'' was a quarterly scientific journal specializing in pteridology. Willard N. Clute was the editor-in-chief of ''The Fern Bulletin'' throughout its years of publication. The Linnaean Fern Chapter of the Agassiz Association publi ...

'' (originally "The Linnaean Fern Bulletin") from 1892 to 1912. It has also published ''The Fiddlehead Forum'', a member newsletter, since 1974. Since 1979, it has published occasional books specializing in ferns under the banner '' Pteridologia''. The fern society maintains a

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

exchange, where members can order fern spore to grow from a variety of species. It also sponsors periodic field trips, as well as a user forum on the website. One such field trip was described by Oliver Sacks in his 2002 book ''Oaxaca Journal''.

References

External links

*American Fern Society website

{{Authority Control Botanical societies Ferns of the United States Professional associations based in the United States Ferns Horticultural organizations based in the United States 1893 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1893 Scientific societies based in the United States

See also

References

External links