Ostrich fern

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More names for this plant

The Dakota and Anishinaabe were among the earliest people to name Minnesota’s plants and animals, as well as to understand them in relation to Minnesota’s climate and seasons. Those original names are still in use, and several are included on the Season Watch website. However, complete translations were not available.

Latin (or scientific name): Matteuccia struthiopteris

The scientific community has a convention of assigning agreed-upon Latin names to every kind of organism. Using scientific names helps people communicate confidently about the same organism and organize lifeforms based on how closely related they are.

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About the ostrich fern

Visual guide to phenology

More resources

A large ostrich fern plant grows on the forest floor. It has five large, compound leaves that emerge from the ground at a shared point.
Ostrich fern growing on the forest floor.
May 31, 2021, Washington County, Minnesota
Photo © Matthew Thompson, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
iNaturalist observation

About the ostrich fern

  • The ostrich fern is a tall perennial plant that grows up to one to five feet in height.
  • These plants grow throughout Minnesota except for the southwest corner of the state.
  • The ostrich fern produces long leaves, called fronds, made up of twenty to sixty smaller leaflets.
  • In the center of the plant there are also separate leaves for reproduction that produce spores.
  • These fertile fronds grow and mature from mid-summer through fall, when they will turn dark brown. They remain visible throughout winter.
  • The spores are released in late winter to early spring.
  • Fun fact: The young fronds, known as fiddleheads, are toxic when raw, but when cooked they can be consumed. They are similar in taste to asparagus or broccoli.

Visual guide to phenology

Watch for the appearance of and status leaves and spore-bearing structures.

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Note to observers

This page explains general clues to watch for when observing ostrich fern phenology. However, this page does not explain how to identify this plant or collect data in a standardized way.

Two dark brown structures poke up from the snow-covered ground. These structures are stiff and feather-like in shape.
Four dark-brown feather-shaped structures stick up from the forest floor. These are the remnants from last year's growth.
This photo shows a tiny pale green arc at the plant's base, the first sign of a new leaf.
Four bright green coils are emerging from the brown leaf litter. These new leaves are still tightly folded in a spiral.
Six fresh fronds emerge from a shared point in the leaf litter. They differ in their heights and the degree to which they have unfurled.
The forest floor is generously covered with tall, green fern fronds. Their large leaves add graceful shapes and feathery texture to the scene.
A neat array of fern leaves form a circular pattern. At the center, some smaller, pale green, stiff fronds have emerged.
This close-up photo shows the ostrich fern's spore-bearing structure. It is shaped something like a feather with orderly spikes covered in small bead-like bumps.
This photo looks down at the center of a fern's array of leaves. The spore-bearing structures are brown and there are brown spots on the leaves.
This photo shows an autumn scene in a forest. Four brown, feather-like structures stand up from the forest floor.
The aboveground parts of the fern dead. Its rich brown leaves and spore-bearing structures are silhouetted against a snowy background.

More resources

Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) in the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas

 

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Co-author: Lynsey Nass, Minnesota Master Naturalist