Ostrich fern

Ostrich fern is the common name for Matteuccia struthiopteris, a perennial fern whose tightly curled young fronds are harvested as fiddleheads and eaten as a vegetable in salads or soups. Also called the fiddlehead fern, it produces the familiar coiled crosiers each spring that are snapped off before they unfurl. Fiddleheads are valued for a flavour reminiscent of asparagus with a nutty note, but they must always be cooked thoroughly, since raw or undercooked fiddleheads have caused outbreaks of foodborne illness. Commercial harvesters gather them wild in North America and northern Europe, grading by tightness of curl, and they are marketed fresh, frozen, or pickled for a short spring season.