Pioneer Valley Fern Society

Fiddlehead Quiz

Can you identify this fern by its fiddleheads?

Hello all,

This is a very distinctive fiddlehead! It belongs to the largest wood fern we have in this area, Goldie's Fern. It grows on rich moist sites, often rocky. I only know of two places in the area where we have seen it growing (Randy may know more). We have seen Narrow-leaved Glade fern growing in those same two places. So it may not be likely you will see this fiddlehead while hiking around, but if you do, you will know what it is! Very tall fern, very scaly stem, esp. at bottom (stipe). I have added a page of photos of Goldie's Fern fiddleheads and young fronds under Files and Presentations/Fern Photos Selection. They are in alphabetical order, so need to scan down the list.

We are pretty much done with searching for fiddleheads now, but I still have more pages to put together and put on the website while it is still fresh in my mind. Then on to the next stage of ferns!

Happy Ferning!

Janice