The contrast, colors, and symbolism of this delicate looking fern growing out of a crack in a sandstone cliff at Red River Gorge caught my attention and sparked my imagination.
The sandstone rock here was formed beginning about 340 million years ago when sand and other sediment was deposited in layers in a great inland river delta. This took place during what geologist refer to as the late Paleozoic Era. It was a time when warm shallow seas repeatedly advanced and retreated and marine life diversified.
Land and swamp plants at the time included mosses and ferns.
