Fern book sheds light on ancient shade dwellers

Flowering plants first appeared just 130 million years ago, which is modern history in evolutionary terms. For 300 years before the first flower, its predecessors were evolving from the most primitive single celled algae to complex land plants. Oddly enough, many of these primitive fellows are still alive and well today. We're just not tuned into them because they lack color flowers. Yet these ancient denizens of the forest fill vital niches in the world wide web of life.

They prefer the forest floor where it is damp and cool beneath the trees. Here moisture is held under a protective duff layer of organic litter. These plants also cling to north facing cliffs and hunker down at the bottom of stream canyons where the sun rarely penetrates.

When William Cullina's "Native Ferns, Moss and Grasses" (Houghton Mifflin, 2008 $40) came across my desk, I knew it was going to bring this little known realm to light. The subtitle says it all: "From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave: Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden." You won't find big flower pictures nor rainbow hues in these pages. Here we can delve into the predecessors of the flowering world to discover their subtle roles in nature and in our gardens.

All across America live immense populations of non-flowering plants. In this book you are given a closer look at those that are native to North America, so you may see them out and about. There are sections on mosses, ferns and their close relatives, all of which reproduce by spores. The second half of the book is dedicated to more advanced grasses, sedges and rushes. These plants are often found in conjunction with mosses and ferns, but they produce actual seeds.

The ferns are shown with color photos accompanied by extensive discussion of where they are found in nature and what they need in the garden. Because it features only natives, this book helps us zero in on the ferns best suited to our local climate. There are also fascinating sidebars that delve into the botany of the fern and its unique spore patterns called sori, which are clustered on the backs of the leaves.

The section on mosses helps the novice understand this most primitive of all cultivated plants. A detailed anatomical discussion with great illustrations shows how mosses grow. Mosses hold spores in tiny pods atop hair thin stems to better release them into the atmosphere. These spores are so microscopic, they rise into the higher atmosphere and travel around the world. Mosses may be the world's only truly global plants.

The third section of this book deals with blade-leafed plants from American wild lands. While ornamental grasses are nothing new in the garden world, native sedges and rushes are far less well known. Though sedges may seem identical to sun loving grasses, this group is tolerant of shade. Use sedges to create grassy textures in the wild shade garden to crowd out weeds naturally. Most sedges spread by underground roots and have long been used by Native Americans for basket making materials.

Rushes are concentrated in low lying wet areas and are vital problem solvers for wet home sites. They're part of the edge conditions of rivers, lakes and ponds, helping to bind the soil against high water erosion.

This book is the natural companion for my well-worn copy of "Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the U.S. and Canada." Both titles are published by the New England Wild Flower Society, which guarantees a high level of accuracy and usability.

Landscaping with natives is the best way to adapt your home to a more green approach to living. But don't be blinded by the beauty of flowering plants and neglect those ancient yet extraordinary dwellers in the shade.

(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of "Weekend Gardening" on DIY Network. Contact her at her Web site www.moplants.com or visit www.diynetwork.com.)