American Fern Society

The American Fern Society, founded in 1893, is an international organization serving those interested in all aspects of ferns and allied plants. The majority of its more than 1000 members are amateurs interested in growing ferns or in studying these plants in the wild. However, most pteridologists (fern specialists) and numerous other professional botanists also find membership in the Society useful.

The principal objective of the Society is to foster scholarly interest in this group of plants. To this end, it publishes a newsletter, Fiddlehead Forum five times a year. The Society's scientific journal, American Fern Journal, has been published quarterly since 1910. The group also publishes at irregular intervals a memoir series, Pteridologia, which includes longer scholarly works. Additionally, the Society operates a spore exchange with spore samples available to Society members at nominal cost or by exchange, for those who wish to grow plants from spores. The Society's annual meetings usually are held in conjunction with the Botanical Society of America's annual conference.