• Fiddleheads: emerge early spring, dark red stems with short white hairs on back of unfurling leaves, few brown scales scattered along stem, hairs persist along leaf veins and midribs
• Fronds : once compound, 12 to 30 inches tall, erect to arching, triangular to egg-shaped in outline, leaflets widely spaced, 5 to 11 on each side of stem, stem is winged along the upper part of the leaf
• Spores : designated fertile frond, 5 to 11 pairs of branches contain spores in bead-like structures tightly packed along a branch, fertile fronds turn brownish black at maturity and persist through winter, releasing the spores the following year
• Fruiting season : Summer
• Height: 12-30 inches
• Habitat : moist woods, thickets, wet meadows, swamps, pond edges