**5.4 Ferns and allies**

At Kuala Keniam forest, ferns and their allies are widespread and can be found on forest floors, tree branches and trunks, rocks and also in the drains. Ferns can be recognised by the groups of sporangia called sori on the back of the leaves (rarely on the margin). Examples of the fern allies found at Kuala Keniam forests are *Selaginella willdenowii*, *S. wallichii* and *Schizaea dichotoma*. Some ferns are good to prevent soil erosion such as *Dicranopteris* spp. Some of them can be used for food, as a biological fertilizer, and also grown in horticulture as landscape plants, for

cut foliage and as houseplants, especially *Asplenium nidus* (birds-nest fern) and *Platycerium coronarium* (staghorn fern).
