Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: What are these? fern roots?, 1 by iheartlilies1

iheartlilies1 wrote:
I\'ve had this fern for many years but don\'t know the type it is.
I would really like to know if these are roots? My fern doesn\'t have spores and I\'ve never seen it have a runner with a little fern growing. There are a lot of these green string looking things with tiny \'hairs\'. I\'ve always just let them alone and they eventually dry, turn dark and die. Can I just cut them off? Will it hurt the fern. Is the only way to get another fern from my fern is divide it? Thanks so much for any info.