Fiddlehead (Noun)
Meaning 1
New World fern having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds; the early uncurling fronds are edible.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The fiddlehead fronds of the ostrich fern are typically found in lowland forests and woodlands, where they grow in clusters.
- In the spring, the new growth of the fern emerges as a fiddlehead, tightly coiled and resembling the scrolled end of a violin.
- To prepare fiddleheads for cooking, rinse them in cold water and trim off the papery brown sheath that covers the new frond.
- In some parts of the country, gathering fiddleheads from the woods is a cherished springtime tradition.
- Fiddleheads are best collected just as the tightly coiled fronds are emerging, before they have a chance to unfurl and become the distinctive long, slender leaves of the ostrich fern.
Synonyms
- Ostrich Fern
- Shuttlecock Fern
- Pteretis Struthiopteris
- Onoclea Struthiopteris
- Matteuccia Struthiopteris