Crosse de fougère

Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the season before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground. Fiddleheads from brackens contain a compound associated with bracken toxicity, and thiaminase. Fiddleheads from Ostrich fern contains thiaminase. The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. It is also called a crozier, after the curved staff used by bishops, which has its origins in the shepherd's crook. The fiddleheads of certain ferns are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable. The most popular of these are: Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, found worldwide (Toxic if not cooked fully) Ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, found in northern regions worldwide, and the central/eastern part of North America (See health warning) Lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina, throughout most of the temperate northern hemisphere. Cinnamon fern or buckhorn fern, Osmunda cinnamomea, found in the eastern parts of North America, although not so palatable as ostrich fern. Royal fern, Osmunda regalis, found worldwide Midin, or Stenochlaena palustris, found in Sarawak, where it is prized as a local delicacy Zenmai or flowering fern, Osmunda japonica, found in East Asia Vegetable fern, Athyrium esculentum, found throughout Asia and Oceania Fiddleheads' ornamental value makes them very expensive in the temperate regions where they are not abundant. Available seasonally, fiddleheads are both foraged and commercially harvested in spring. When picking fiddleheads, it is recommended to take only one third the tops per plant/cluster for sustainable harvest. Each plant produces several tops that turn into fronds; repeated over-picking will eventually kill the plant. Maintaining sustainable harvesting methods is important in the propagation of any non-farmed food species.