A callback to the photo I shared a few weeks ago, another image from the Eales Preserve: dappled light on a fern frond and scrub oak, growing side by side in the pine barrens.
I imagine that given enough time, the oak may outgrow the fern, spreading enough to shade it out. Nature is lovely and fierce, even where plants are concerned.
But of course, anything can happen before then – something may eat the oak, or either plant could fall victim to drought or blight, or even to fire, which is a natural – albeit now managed – part of the lifecycle in the barrens.