1.Any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.
2.New World fern (Osmunda cinnamonea) having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds, called also fiddlehead fern; the early uncurling fronds are edible, and sometimes considered as a vegetable delicacy.