Fern gametophytes were once considered the handicap of the fern life cycle. Over the past 50 years, research has revealed that this cryptic life stage is much more dynamic than previously thought. However, lack of morphological characters has seriously impacted the ability to study fern gametophytes in a field setting. This talk will focus on methodological and technological updates that will allow for field studies focusing on fern gametophytes. Preliminary data will be shared that include the use of these modern methods to better understand the geographic variation between fern gametophyte and sporophyte life stages and how these distributions may have shifted over geologic time.