Records of the American Fern Society

The American Fern Society was organized in 1893 as the Linnaean Fern Chapter of the Agassiz Association. The group published the journal Linnaean Fern Bulletin, which contained original research, field notes, various discoveries, and Society news. Most members were not professional botanists, but rather amateurs with mutual interests. By mid-1905 the Society voted to create an independent group and became the American Fern Society, which received incorporation in 1936.

By 1910, the AFS established The American Fern Journal and ceased publication of the Linnaean Fern Bulletin in 1912. In time, because The American Fern Journal published more scientific papers the Society began to release a newsletter called Fiddlehead Forum to inform members of general Society news, field trip reports, and horticultural issues. In 1979, the Society began to publish an occasional monograph series called Pteridologia that contained even more scientific information due to the increase in membership by professional botanists.

In addition to the availability of professional and amateur papers, the Society provides an exchange program of fern spores that are provided to both botanical scholars and horticulturists.