Question

a mass of strange ferns embraces a trunk high among the treetops. they look like a giant tangle of floppy, green antlers. below their fork - shaped fronds and closer into the core of this lush knot of greenery are brown, disc - shaped plants. these, too, are ferns. they are even the same species. together these individuals form a society, a type of society that has only ever been observed in animals, especially bees, termites, and ants. staghorn ferns – and possibly other plants – appear to work together, each taking on different tasks that together aid their society. kevin burns is a biologist at victoria university of wellington in new zealand. he first became familiar with the ferns while working on lord howe, an isolated island between australia and new zealand. he took notes on local island epiphytes (ep - ih - fytes) – plants that grow on other plants – and one species caught his eye: the staghorn fern. the staghorn fern (platycerium bifurcatum) is native to parts of mainland australia and indonesia, too. \i realized,\ burns recalls, these ferns
ever occur alone.\ some of the larger clusters were massive. they contained hundreds of individuals, and burns soon realized \each one of those individuals was doing a different thing.\ question 14 paragraph 1 contributes to the overall passage by – a. introducing interesting characteristics of staghorn ferns. b. explaining how staghorn ferns survive high in the treetops. c. highlighting the variety of plant species that can coexist together. d. showing how different species must rely on each other to survive.

Explanation:

Paragraph 1 describes the appearance of staghorn ferns and how they form a society with each taking on different tasks, highlighting their interesting characteristics. It doesn't focus on survival in treetops, variety of co - existing species, or different species relying on each other as much as on the unique traits of staghorn ferns.

Answer:

A. introducing interesting characteristics of staghorn ferns.