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 Constitutio ...
. 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'', a technical botanical journal, since 1910. Before that, it published ''
The Fern Bulletin'' (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 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''.
See also
*
Pteridomania
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