Birds Of A Feather: Ostrich Fern
Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) has been somewhat of a bane to me–I love it. I want it. But in previous years, I had no luck with it until the one I planted last fall took. I don’t know how it’s possible to do so poorly (6 attempts) with something that’s supposedly hardy af, but I achieved it. I have no idea if it’s because it needed more water or less or more sunlight or less because I did all those combinations and only by sheer luck did my last one, which I gave up on and just chose a haphazard place to put it, thrive. It’s among a bed of Lily of the Valley that the previous owners planted, but which I will begin to pull out because it’s poisonous and useless to me food wise.
Its value to me lies in the fact that it can do well in the shade, propagate on its own, and provide delicious fiddleheads during the spring (that as far as I can tell, no evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, mention ostrich ferns to be carcinogenic, but moderation should still be practiced as a just in case since bracken fern fiddleheads are.) Many groups of people both east and west eat it, and it is considered a mountain vegetable (sansai) in Japan, known as “kogomi.” It is called “gosari” in Korean, and “jue cai” in Chinese.
Although it can live in full sun, it’s preferred environment is shady and wet–often growing near streams. As long as it has a steady source of water, it should thrive regardless of where you put it. The name itself comes from the fact that these things get tall and the leaves look like ostrich feathers.
The fiddleheads are collected in the spring and should be thoroughly cooked first before ingesting as a precautionary measure.