Fern learning lesson 3 - Soft Shield Fern

Today's fern, the Soft Shield Fern, is bipinnate.  So here you see a single frond divided into about 30 pinnae and each pinna divded into about 30 pinnules

But the thing to notice is that each pinnule is shaped like a tiny mitten, with a palm and a thumb.  I have torn off all the pinnules except one on one pinna to make it clearer.

And here is that one pinnule, showing a little soft hair at the point of the 'thumb' and the point of the 'palm'.

You can remember that a woolly mitten on your hand is soft and it is a shield against the cold.