- Ostrich fern
Taxobox
name = Ostrich fern
image_width = 240px
image_caption = Sterile fronds in summer
regnum =Plant ae
divisio =Pteridophyta
classis =Pteridopsida
ordo =Polypodiales
familia =Onocleaceae
genus = "Matteuccia "
species = "M. struthiopteris"
binomial = "Matteuccia struthiopteris"
binomial_authority = (L.) TodaroThe Ostrich fern "or" Shuttlecock fern ("Matteuccia struthiopteris") is a crown-forming, colony-forming
fern , occurring in temperate regions of theNorthern Hemisphere in eastern and northernEurope , northernAsia and northernNorth America .It grows from a completely vertical crown, favoring riverbanks and sandbars, but sends out lateral
stolon s to form new crowns. It thus can form dense colonies resistant to destruction by floodwaters.The
frond s are dimorphic, with thedeciduous green sterile fronds being almost vertical, 100-170 cm tall and 20-35 cm broad, long-tapering to the base but short-tapering to the tip, so that they resembleostrich plumes, hence the name. The fertile fronds are shorter, 40-60 cm long, brown when ripe, with highly modified and constricted leaf tissue curled over the sporangia; they develop in autumn, persist erect over the winter and release thespore s in early spring."Matteuccia" species are used as food plants by the
larva e of someLepidoptera species including "Sthenopis auratus".Cultivation and uses
The ostrich fern is a popular
ornamental plant ingarden s. The tightly wound immature fronds, calledfiddlehead s, are also used as a cookedvegetable , and are considered a delicacy mainly in rural areas of northeastern North America.The plants are also grown in
Japan , where the sprouts ("kogomi" in Japanese) are a delicacy.References
* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?400400 Germplasm Resources Information Network: "Matteuccia struthiopteris"]
*Hyde, H. A., Wade, A. E., & Harrison, S. G. (1978). "Welsh Ferns". National Museum of Wales.
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