Cinnamon Fern (Fiddlehead)

The fronds of cinnamon fern occur in groups, rising from a shallow, black rootstock. Fertile fronds appear first as silvery, furry fiddleheads, ultimately becoming stiff, erect, and covered with specialized pinnae, which turn their upper portions into a thick spike of fruit dots - turning from green to chocolate brown. Sterile fronds bend outwards forming a vase-shaped circle enclosing the "cinnamon" fronds. The fern can reach a height of 6 ft.

Keys to identifying the Cinnamon Fern and differentiating it from other ferns include its preferred habitat and its physical characteristics.

Cinnamon Ferns prefer wet soil, so look for it in wetland habitats, including swamps and the edges of bogs.

Cinnamon Ferns have pale cinnamon-colored wool tufts on the underside of its sterile leaflets (pinnae), at the base near the rachis (the stalk within the blade).

The fiddleheads of Cinnamon Ferns are covered with woolly white or reddish hairs.