Cinnamon Fern

Cinnamon Fern

by: Lara Miller, Natural Resource Agent

Jonathan Houser, Brooker Creek Preserve Intern 

While the name refers to a spice many have
come to love during this time of year, Cinnamon Ferns don’t actually produce
cinnamon. They get their name from their cinnamon-colored fronds.  Cinnamon ferns are fairly large and capable
of growing six feet high by one foot wide. They can be found in large clusters
of damp woods, marshes,
wet ditches, and stream banks. There are two types of fronds in cinnamon ferns:
large green sterile fronds and smaller bright green fronds which turn a brown
cinnamon-color as they become fertile. The cinnamon-colored fronds are fertile
because they are covered with sporangia
(a cell structure where spores (reproductive bodies) are produced) to propel
new fern growth. In the spring, the fronds in the center of the plant become
fertile as they develop their sporangia. These fertile fronds will die back in
the late summer once they have lost their spores.

Cinnamon
fern is a long lived perennial that does best in moist shaded areas with rich
acidic soil, but can also survive full sun if there is an abundance of water. It
was historically used by American Indians to treat headaches, muscles pain, chills,
colds and snakebites. Frond tips were eaten both raw and cooked. The
fiddleheads are edible, and said to taste like a blend of broccoli, asparagus
and artichoke. The Florida Department of Agriculture lists cinnamon fern as a "Commercially
Exploited Species". A permit is needed to remove it from the wild for
commercial purposes. It is legally available from many native plant nurseries.

Sources: http://www.floridata.com/ref/o/osmu_cin.cfm

                http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/cinnamon_fern.htm