Ferns and their relatives (“pteridophytes”) arose approximately 420 million years ago and were the dominant plant groups for hundreds of millions of years afterwards. Today the pteridophytes are outnumbered by the diversity and abundance of other plant groups, such as those that bear flowers, but they remain diverse (with around 12,000 species), ecologically important, and are found throughout the world. This Thematic Collections Network (TCN) brings together 9 core institutions whose goal is to make digital images and data on the distribution and biology of 1.6 million fossil and modern ferns and their relatives available to researchers. This effort includes 39 US Museums and Herbaria that will provide on-line access of collections data to researchers worldwide who will be able to address pressing questions about the evolution, distribution, and biology of land plants.

The Philecology Herbarium (BRIT-SMU-VDB-NLU) holds nearly 50,000 pteridophyta specimens. The collections along with other herbaria can be viewed on PteridoPortal.