Final answer:
Deciduous Bracken ferns shed their fronds seasonally, so during a second visit, they may not be visible. However, the plant persists via an underground stem called a rhizome, from which new fronds will eventually emerge. The rhizome allows the fern to survive in a variety of environmental conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bracken ferns are a type of deciduous plant, meaning they shed their fronds seasonally. When the ferns are not visible during your second visit, it's likely because the fronds have been shed as part of their natural lifecycle. However, the fern is not gone entirely; the rhizome, an underground stem, remains intact.
The rhizome acts as a storage organ, allowing the fern to survive when the fronds are not present. When conditions become favorable again, for instance in spring, new fronds will emerge from the rhizome as fiddleheads. These fiddleheads will unfurl and mature into full-size fronds, continuing the cyclical nature of the fern’s existence.Fern fronds are the photosynthetic organ of the plant, but when you cannot see the fronds above ground, the fern's growth is occurring underground via the rhizome. This adaptation allows ferns to thrive in various environments, ranging from tropics to temperate forests.