If you visit our West Meadow property in Lowell, you will be welcomed by hundreds of Cinnamon Ferns as you descend the stairs and walk down the path. It’s a beautiful sight throughout the seasons: fuzzy fiddleheads in spring, followed by a tall vase of green fronds surrounding brown spikes reminiscent of cinnamon sticks. In fall, the whole plant turns a golden or rusty brown adding to the artistry of an autumnal landscape.
The beauty of ferns can be overlooked, despite being so plentiful in our area…
Form: Composed of fertile and infertile fronds, Osmunda cinnamomea can grow 3-6 ft. tall. The fertile fronds start out as silvery, fuzzy fiddleheads, which eventually become erect cinnamon brown spikes dotted with fruit. The sterile green fronds surround the fertile “cinnamon” fronds, arching outwards in a vase shape. The leaf stalk is also covered with cinnamon-colored hairs. This non-flowering, clump-forming plant rises up from a rhizome, or rootstock, and reproduces by spores May-June.
Habitat: These perennial, deciduous plants are typically found in moist, partly shaded areas, in rich, acidic soil such as those surrounding the vernal pools at West Meadow.
Wildlife Value: Birds, including hummingbirds, love the fiddlehead fuzz to use as nesting material. The fronds may also be used as nesting material by rodents or larger animals. The structure of Cinnamon Fern offers protection for ground-feeding birds, frogs, and turtles, especially when there are large stands of ferns. Deer, rabbits, and grouse may occasionally browse the fronds, but it’s not a preferred plant for these animals!
Please Note: The fiddleheads of Cinnamon Fern should not be eaten as they are carcinogenic! (source)
There’s an abundance of ferns at West Meadow and several other properties maintained by LP&CT.
Where have you seen Cinnamon Ferns around Lowell? Let us know!
(Originally featured as September 2020 Flora & Fauna Fridays.)
