Ferns flourish at Lake Elise

#Middlebury #MLT #Ferns

This photo illustrates the lovely vase shape and remnants of last year’s cinnamon colored spire on a Cinnamon Fern. Look for these ferns near the trail at Lake Elise. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

When I began researching ferns for this article, these ferny facts surprised me: There are 17 types of ferns in this part of the Northeast, it is easy to mistake one kind for another, and there is not much information about their role in the environment.

Ferns in general are deer, rabbit and insect resistant, making them appealing to home gardeners whose neighborhood deer seem to think they have planted gardens to provide the deer with salad bars. There is a slight salad bar aspect for humans, too – the fiddleheads (the coiled fronds that emerge in early spring) of Ostrich Ferns are not only edible but tasty. I’ve tried them; they really are. Their taste is often described as somewhere between asparagus and spinach.

There are a few important caveats for eating them: They must be cooked thoroughly (10 minutes), and the fiddleheads of several types of ferns are poisonous or even carcinogenic, so proper identification is a must. Because so many types are toxic, I suggest you only eat fiddleheads from your own garden where you can be sure of the species in early spring. There are a couple of good YouTube videos from the University of Maine on the subject.

An easy place to start fern identification is at Lake Elise, one of the Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) properties where they grow along the path. Following are descriptions of the Cinnamon Fern, Sensitive Fern and Bracken you can find there.

The Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) is probably the easiest to identify and is plentiful there. This is one of Connecticut’s largest ferns. It typically grows in clumps to 2-3 feet tall, but can reach 5 feet in height. The common name of this plant refers to the tall, cinnamon-colored spires that emerge from the center of the frond base. The remains of last year’s fronds often can be seen on the plants into winter and spring. The growth pattern is a distinctive, symmetric, vase-shaped clump. Its fiddleheads are food for ruffed grouse, and hummingbirds sometimes use the fuzz on young fronds to line their nests.

Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) The sensitive fern is so named because of its sensitivity to frost. The fronds are broader than many other ferns, and they are much smaller. There is another fern that looks very much like it: the netted chain fern (Woodwardia areolate). Both grow 18-24 inches tall. The two lookalikes can be distinguished by their reproductive characteristics: the sensitive fern grows bead-like structures, for which it is sometimes called “bead fern.” The fertile fronds on a netted chain fern have chain-like patterns on the underside. To me, this is very much as tricky as identifying gender in some cats. So, I gave a close look, and the ones around Lake Elise are indeed Sensitive Fern.

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) also grows around Lake Elise. This is an easier one to identify as the fern fronds grow atop a straight stem. While it can reach 3-5 feet tall, the ones at Lake Elise are only about 1-2 feet tall at this time of year.

Now you have something new to investigate as you enjoy the trails on MLT properties. If you have any questions, you can contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com, visit the MLT on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. We would love to hear about the ferns you find, and where you find them.