Plant · P-327

Fiddlehead Fern

Matteuccia struthiopteris

Fiddlehead fern is grown for its tightly coiled young fronds, harvested and cooked - never eaten raw - before they unfurl, with a flavor often compared to asparagus; the peeled rootstock can also be roasted. It also works simply as a spreading, shade-loving groundcover in permanently damp ground. It needs cool, consistently moist, part-to-full shade and burns and yellows in full sun, which puts it well outside anywhere that gets a long, hot, dry summer.