Cinnamon Fern

Osmunda cinnamomea, more commonly known as the Cinnamon fern, is a deciduous perennial fern [4]. It looks very similar to the Interrupted, Royal, and Sensitive fern because of its composition, but using the reproductive fronds you can tell them apart [1]. The Cinnamon fern has cinnamon-colored fiddleheads specially used for reproduction, and that's where its name comes from [1].

Description

Cinnamon ferns have long green fronds that can grow up to 1 foot in length [4]. The blades of these fronds are pinnate, which means they share a common axis from which the pinna or the leaflets will grow [1].

References

[1] Adirondack Ferns: Cinnamon Fern | Osmundastrum cinnamomeum. (n.d.). . https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-ferns-cinnamon-fern-osmundastrum-cinnamomeum.html.

[2] Australian National Botanic Gardens, P. A. (n.d.). Growing ferns from spores - Australian Plant Information. https://www.anbg.gov.au/ferns/fern.spore.prop.html#:~:text=Ferns%20do%20not%20flower%20but,shaped%20plants%20known%20as%20prothalli.

[3] Cinnamon Fern & Interrupted Fern | Mountain Lake Biological Station, U.Va. (n.d.). . https://mlbs.virginia.edu/organism/cinnamon-interrupted-ferns#:~:text=Besides%20sexual%20reproduction%2C%20the%20ferns,cinnamon%20%E2%80%9Cfruiting%20bodies%E2%80%9D).

[4] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.). . https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OSCI.

[5] Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (Cinnamon Fern) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). . https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/osmundastrum-cinnamomeum/.