Thank you for replying. These are definitely not spore patches. The spots that I think may be fungus are on the shield fronds and are blackish. The brown tips are on fertile fronds. They are dry, curled and crackly and about the same brown as a grocery sack - only darker. Any ideas? I love these plants and would hate to lose them. Lou

Merit 75WP combined w/picking will clear this up.

Well, I'm not going to tell you-all how old I am, but I lived in Miami from 1934 to 1950, I voted for FDR and 'The buck stops here' Harry, I left there in 1950... Miami was a small town, during the War I worked on Flagler St in an orange-juice stand and then at the MIAD, where they had German POW's doing the grounds-work.... and the place was full of Russian sailors,.... and then I worked on the Beach and took the Jitneys across the causeway to work... no air-conditioning in any of the stores, just ceiling fans........ stuff sure has changed there, hasn't it?................sally

Please post pictures. A question: is the fern indoors or outdoors? If indoors, likely a streessed plant that's subject to more than the usual amount of problems. As for management, you might cast around for a local/nearby fern society as they are often populated by amateurs who are quite knowledgeable.