THREE SMALL WALL FERNS

I had thought that all the Rustyback Ferns had died in the dry weather, but after the recent rain they came back green again. 

If you look at the back of the fronds (not 'leaves' on a fern) you can see that they are covered with rust-coloured fur, hence the name, rustyback.   

Another common wall fern is the Maidenhair Spleenwort, with a black central vein and little round pinnules (like leaflets) on each frond.  

The spores, which are what ferns have instead of seeds, come from duck's-foot shaped sori on the underside of the frond.

 

And the third one, which is hard to recognise as a fern is Wall Rue.  It looks almost like a flowering plant

   

These longer stalks carry the black sori, from which the spores are ejected into the air.