Ornamental border, wild groundcover, or foragers delight?
Yes, yes and yes. Trudging along the path in the small serving of snow we’ve had this winter, I came across this spray of dry knee-high, feathery-looking spikes. What do we have here?
Matteuccia struthiopteris (or more simply, ostrich fern - or for the gastronome, fiddlehead fern) her winter self only a shadow of her summer glory, is reduced to a cluster of spikey stalks poking up from the bracken. All winter they will just stand there quietly releasing tiny spores that drop to the ground or float off in the wind. Next spring I’ll be waist-deep in a river of flowing ferns.
“Only spread a fern-frond over a man's head and worldly cares are cast out, and freedom and beauty and peace come in.”
John Muir
This everywhere fern crowds up against house foundations, fills in bare shady spots, and runs wild through the woods from New England through Canada and all the way up to Alaska. It’s called ‘fiddlehead’ because early in the spring before the fronds unfurl they resemble the curled ornamentation on the end of a stringed instrument such as a fiddle. If you catch ‘em early they are also quite tasty when sauteed in butter.
If you miss the edible stage, just put a frond on your head and experience peace.
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