Fiddleheads 2026

Dissected Grape Fern

The last of our new Fiddleheads this year are the Grape Ferns, in this case, the Dissected (or Cut-leaf) Grape Fern (Sceptridium dissectum). They are just starting to emerge in a few places. This photo is from a cemetery in Shelburne. Although we find some scattered Dissected Grape Ferns in the woods, it is usually easier to find some by going to cemeteries which are not mowed too often. The infrequent mowing tends to be at the older cemeteries, but it varies by town. What is odd this year is that we found some new Dissected Grape Fern fiddleheads in the two cemeteries we checked in Shelburne, but we didn't find any in a cemetery in Pelham where we found many last year. We don't know why the fiddleheads would be popping up first in the cemeteries further north. We only found 3 little Dissected Grape Fern fiddleheads in a nearby conservation area in Pelham where there are also usually many.

The photo shows on the left the old Dissected Grape Fern leaf, which remained through the winter and had probably turned a bronze color last Fall. In the middle, coming from the same spot, is the tall fertile sporophore fiddlehead. On the right side is the new small sterile fiddlehead, which will open into a new leaf before the fertile fiddlehead opens.

A reminder that our Fern Hike in Gill will be this Sunday, July 26th from 1-3pm. We are meeting at the Barton Cove campground parking area to consolidate cars if possible as parking is limited at the site. Lots of different and wonderful ferns! See Calendar item for more details.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Thu, Jul 23, 2026
Updated: Thu, Jul 23, 2026