cinnamon fern

Osmundastrum cinnamomeum

The cinnamon fern is a beautiful plant with feathery leaves that can grow quite tall. It loves to live in shady, wet places and adds a lovely green touch to the forest floor.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The cinnamon fern has large, vase-shaped clusters of bright green, sterile fronds that can grow over a meter tall. Distinctive fuzzy, cinnamon-brown fertile fronds emerge in spring, standing upright in the center before releasing spores and fading.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassPolypodiopsidaOrderOsmundalesFamilyOsmundaceaeGenusOsmundastrum

cinnamon fern

Interesting facts

It forms a giant green "vase" shape in the forest!

Its fuzzy brown fronds look like cinnamon sticks but are full of spores.

Native Americans traditionally harvested and ate its young shoots.

This ancient fern species has existed on Earth for millions of years!

Special abilities

Cinnamon fern can reproduce by releasing tiny spores from its unique cinnamon-colored fronds, allowing new plants to sprout far away.

The fertile fronds of cinnamon fern are covered in woolly, cinnamon-colored hairs that help protect the developing spores inside.

Cinnamon fern has young, coiled fronds called fiddleheads that can be safely eaten by humans as a tasty early spring vegetable.

Measurements & details

Height: 60-150 cm
Spread: 60-120 cm
Edible: Yes
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial

Ecological connections

eaten by

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

browses young fiddleheads

eaten by

Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus

nibbles on fronds

shelters

Spotted Salamander

Ambystoma maculatum

hides in damp leaf litter near it

Traits

Feathered

Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.

Deciduous

Deciduous plants periodically shed all their leaves, typically during autumn or dry seasons.

Grass-Like

Grass-like plants are herbaceous plants that visually resemble true grasses, typically having long, narrow leaves.

Shade Tolerant

Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.

Spore Producing

Spore-producing organisms reproduce by releasing small, often single-celled, reproductive units called spores.

Forest

Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.