Osmunda cinnamomea
James Manhart
Cinnamon Ferns are large,
with fronds
(leaves) growing up to six feet long and a foot wide. They
grow in large clumps in moist woods, marshes,
wet ditches, and streambanks. A Cinnamon Fern has two
types of fronds: the big green ones, and smaller ones which
start out bright green and then turn a cinnamon
color. Then cinnamon-colored
ones have sori
on them. Sori make spores,
which are like seeds for other plants. Fern spores are how
the fern can make new ferns. Emmet J. Judziewicz,
Wisconsin State Herbarium Emmet J. Judziewicz,
Wisconsin State Herbarium Kenneth J. Sytsma,
Wisconsin State Herbarium In early Spring, new
young fronds start to grow. They look like a skinny stem,
which uncoils into a leafy frond. These young skinny fronds
are called "fiddleheads." Fiddleheads
are eaten by White-tailed Deer and other animals. Once several large fronds
have grown, then the smaller ones with sori will grow. Then
fern will stop growing new fronds in a couple of months. It
will instead grow spores to be spread to new places to grow
new ferns. Cinnamon Ferns also have
rhizomes,
a type of underground stem that spreads and sends up new
plants. This way ferns can have a colony, or large group of
ferns in one place. Some trees that Cinnamon
Ferns grow under include: Red Maple, Eastern White Pine,
White Oak, Black Oak, Loblolly Pine, and Virginia
Pine. Tim Kessenich, Wisconsin
State Herbarium
