♪ Beneath the towering trees and along the shaded forest floor of South Carolina, a quiet but ancient group of plants thrives- Ferns.

♪ With their delicate feather like fronds, they paint the undergrowth in shades of green, creating a serene, timeless presence.

These plants belong to an ancient lineage emerging over 360 million years ago, long before the rise of flowering plants and the vast diversity of plant life that we see today.

♪ Their survival through eras of change speaks to their resilience and adaptability, making them one of nature's most enduring designs in the wild.

♪ ♪ (peaceful music) ♪ What sets ferns apart is their unique reproductive strategy.

Unlike most plants, which rely on seeds, ferns reproduce through spores, tiny dust like particles found on the underside of their fronds.

♪ When released, these spores drift to the ground where they must find a moist environment to develop.

♪ This is where ferns reveal their ancient ties to water, for it's only with sufficient moisture that the spore transforms into a gametophyte, a small, heart shaped structure.

This stage is fleeting and often overlooked, but it is here that reproduction takes place.

♪ The gametophyte develops both male and female organs, depending on the presence of water, to fertilize and begin the growth of a new fern.

♪ This two stage life cycle has remained virtually unchanged for millions of years.

But what makes ferns even more remarkable is their resilience in the face of evolving landscapes.

♪ Their reliance on water for reproduction links them to a time when Earth's climate was vastly different.

Yet they've persisted.

Today they stand as living relics, bridging the gap between past and present in the wild.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪