With their beauty and versatility, often combined with a toughness that belies their delicate appearance, ferns are among the most useful and rewarding plants that any gardener can grow. Ranging from diminutive rock-garden gems to the stately tree ferns of the Southern Hemisphere, ferns offer a staggering variety of habit and shape, with foliage comprising endless variations of green as well as bronze, pink, silver, and blue-gray. It all adds up to a dazzling array of choices, with new introductions pouring in from Asia and Central and South America to augment the already plentiful choices to be found among the more familiar species.<BR>In this comprehensive reference, fern specialist Sue Olsen presents succinct descriptions, habitat information, and cultural recommendations for more than 960 ferns, accompanied by 700 color photographs. Early chapters focus on ferns in history, as well as on cultivation, propagation, and structure. A series of appendices highlights qualities that will enable gardeners to further refine their choices, such as which species will tolerate dry shade, boggy conditions, strong sunlight, or other special conditions. Rounding out the volume are useful lists (with contact information) of places to see and purchase ferns.