Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

Family: Onocleaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Form: Irregular or sprawling.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

The young uncurled leaves, often called 'fiddleheads', are used as a vegetable or eaten raw[. Remove the brown scales and then steam the leaves in very little water. The young shoots have been sold as delicacies in Asian markets. — The young uncurled leaves, often called 'fiddleheads', are used as a vegetable or eaten raw[.; Remove the brown scales and then steam the leaves in very little water.; The young shoots have been sold as delicacies in Asian markets.; A famine food, it is only used in times of scarcity.

Habitat & North American Range

Open swamps, thickets, marshes, or low woods, in sunny or shaded locations, often forming thick stands from sea level to elevations of 1500 metres,. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)