Osmunda cinnamonea
n 1: New World fern having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing
fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds;
the early uncurling fronds are edible [syn: {cinnamon
fern}, {fiddlehead}, {fiddlehead fern}, {Osmunda
cinnamonea}]
fiddlehead \fid"dle*head`\ n.
1. any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions
having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling
ostrich plumes.
Syn: ostrich fern, shuttlecock fern, {Matteuccia
struthiopteris}, {Pteretis struthiopteris}, {Onoclea
struthiopteris}.
[WordNet 1.5]
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.
Syn: cinnamon fern, fiddlehead fern, {Osmunda cinnamonea}.
[WordNet 1.5]
3. (Naut.) an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the
volute or scroll at the head of a violin. Sometimes it
serves the function of a {billhead}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]