Osmunda cinnamomea|cinnamon fern; (flowering fern)*|Osmundaceae

Osmunda cinnamomea, M. B. Gargiullo May 20, 2015

Osmunda cinnamomea is a fern from the end of stout, fibrous, rhizome.

Leaves in rosettes; 60-120 cm long, young leaf stalk densely wooly, sterile blades oblong, pinnate, to 30 cm wide, tip pointed, leaflets (pinnae), 15-25 per side, stalkless, narrowly oblong, to 15 cm long, 3 cm wide, deeply pinnately lobed, tips blunt to pointed.

Spore cases red-brown, covering the narrow, fertile fronds that arise in the center of sterile rosette, dusty with spores in Spring, withering in summer.

Osmunda cinnamomea.Copyright © 2004 by Robbin Moran.plantsystematics.org

Wetland status: FACW.

Frequency in NYC: Frequent.

Origin: Native to NYC.

Habitat: Shady, moist to saturated soil in swamp forest herb layer, subacid soil. Found in moist to wet forest soil pH 4.8-6.2 (Gargiullo, unpublished data).

Notes: Occasionally eaten by rabbits. A host of the white-spored fir rust Uredinopsis osmundae (a fir-fern rust, Basidiomycotina) (Sinclair et al. 1987; Bailey et al. 1976). Sometimes planted in restorations. *Not actually flowering. A common name for the family Osmundaceae or ferns with showy sporangia.

Related Terms:

Term: Bailey et al. 1976

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Osmunda cinnamomea cinnamon fern; (flowering fern)* Osmundaceae OSCI; Bx, pb, vc, wv; Q, cu, i, j; R, ah, an, bk, cl, cn, d, e, ev, fk, gb, gr, h, is, lp, mc, pm, r, ro, sm, sp, sv, t, v, w, wp, wt; Also planted in some restorations; Bx, sf;