Fiddlehead Fern

A fiddlehead is not a species of fern but a growth stage of any fern. When the tightly coiled new frond (or crosier) pokes up through the soil but has not yet begun to uncurl, it is called a fiddlehead. While Vermont and Maine are prime fiddlehead terrain in the United States, the bright, springy ferns emerge along rivers and streams as far south as Virginia and as far north as Newfoundland, and extend west over almost half the country. In each locale the shoots sprout for about two weeks, then unfurl to inedible plumes. In parts of the South, fiddleheads may appear in early April; as the sun gets warmer, the season shifts northward, with final Canadian fern crops appearing as late as July.