• Fiddleheads: emerge early spring, brown stems covered in silvery gray hair
• Fronds: top of stem a whorl of 3 leaves, each 2 or 3 times compound, generally triangular in outline, leaf blade 2 to 4 feet long, 1 to 3 feet wide, leaves held nearly erect to almost horizontal, parallel to the ground
• Spores: develop mid to late June on underside of leaves in continuous narrow band along leaf edge, rolled edges may cover them
• Fruiting season: Summer
• Height: 1-3 feet
• Habitat: upland woods, woodland edges