Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)

PLANT INFORMATION

Plant Size:

Name: Cinnamon Fern – Osmunda cinnamomea

Type: Fern

The cinnamon fern is a native, herbaceous perennial fern in the royal-fern family (Osmundaceae). It naturally occurs in the moist, boggy ground along streams and on shaded ledges and bluffs. It typically grows in clumps 2 to 3 feet tall, but with constant moisture can reach 6 feet in height. It may go dormant with dry soil. Cinnamon fern features showy, cinnamon-colored fertile fronds in early spring, followed by large, arching sterile fronds for the remainder of the growing season, making this an attractive addition to the moist shade garden. The erect fronds grow to 3½’ tall with the fertile fronds fading by early summer. Cinnamon fern thrives in moist, humus-rich, acidic to average soil in partial to full shade, and its fibrous root system is excellent at holding the soil in place, especially streamside. Cinnamon fern makes an excellent companion to golden ragwort (Packera aurea), swamp pink (Helonias bullata), swamp saxifrage (Micranthes pensylvanica), Gray’s sedge (Carex grayi), and great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica).

It is slow to establish but long-lived. Cinnamon fern can be grown in native, rain, and shade gardens. It also grows well in woodlands and alongside ponds with some shade.

Fun Facts: The fuzz that covers the young fiddleheads is a favorite nesting material for birds. Bristly root crown, called osmunda fiber, is used as a potting medium for orchids.