matteuccia struthiopteris

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Matteuccia struthiopteris
    n 1: tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful
         arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes
         [syn: {ostrich fern}, {shuttlecock fern}, {fiddlehead},
         {Matteuccia struthiopteris}, {Pteretis struthiopteris},
         {Onoclea struthiopteris}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

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]