Definition

1. Noun:
   • A New World fern species: A type of fern native to the Americas, characterized by having fertile fronds that are woolly and cinnamon-colored in early spring, which later become surrounded by green sterile fronds. The young, uncurling fronds (fiddleheads) are edible.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The cinnamon fern is easily identified by its distinctive cinnamon-colored fertile fronds in spring.
  • We gathered the edible fiddleheads from the cinnamon fern for dinner.
  • A patch of cinnamon ferns thrives in the damp soil near the stream.

Advanced Usage

• In botanical description: The term is used to specify the species (formerly ).
  • The cinnamon fern, Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, is common in eastern North American wetlands.

Variants and Related Words

• Cinnamon-colored (adj): Having a light reddish-brown color similar to the spice cinnamon. This describes the color of the fern's fertile fronds.
• Fiddlehead (n): The young, tightly coiled frond of a fern, often edible. This is a general term for which the cinnamon fern provides a specific example.

Synonyms

• Osmundastrum cinnamomeum: The current scientific (Latin) name for the cinnamon fern.
• Osmunda cinnamomea: A former scientific name for the same plant species.

Related Phrases

• Fertile frond: The spore-bearing part of the fern, which in the cinnamon fern is the distinctive cinnamon-colored stalk.
• Sterile frond: The green, leafy part of the fern that does not bear spores and surrounds the fertile fronds later in the season.

Noun

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