FERN MADNESS! Pteridomania (pterido = Latin for "fern") was a short-lived Victorian craze. Pteridomania is generally considered a British eccentricity, but while it lasted, fern madness invaded all aspects of Victorian life. This was the heyday of the amateur naturalist - people were obsessed with hunting and gathering the rarest specimens, and it was essential to have a glass terrarium in your house to display and protect your finds. Ferns and fern motifs appeared everywhere; in homes, gardens, art, literature, and as we see here, jewelry.