There are 2 fern-like leaves on the flag of Vanuatu.
The emblem on Vanuatu’s flag contains two crossed namele leaves inside a golden boar’s tusk. They are commonly described in quiz questions as fern leaves, but botanically the namele is a cycad, not a true fern. The number shown on the flag is nevertheless two.
Vanuatu adopted its national flag on 18 February 1980, shortly before independence on 30 July that year. Its red, green, black, and yellow colors developed from the flag of the Vanua’aku Pati, the political movement that led the country toward independence.
The two leaves are associated with peace and are traditionally worn with a boar’s tusk as a pendant. The tusk symbolizes custom, tradition, and prosperity, while the black field represents the Melanesian ni-Vanuatu people. The yellow Y-shaped band represents the shape of the islands on a map and is also associated with the light of the Gospel.
A useful detail is hidden in the leaves: together, their 39 leaflets represent the 39 original members of Vanuatu’s Parliament. Thus, the flag shows two leaves, but those leaves carry an additional numerical symbol.