Longwood Gardens Fiddleheads – September 2015

When we were at Longwood Gardens last week – several of the ferns in the conservatory were in the fiddlehead stage. I always find the tightly packed spirals of the fronds fascinating. Some of them already have the beginnings of spore structures on the underside of the tiny parts of the frond that beginning to unpack itself as it uncurls. Often times the stem looks hairy too.

Sometimes the structure is one simple spiral and sometimes there are multiple spirals packed together. In the case of the one below – the main stem elongates to separate the spirals before they are completely open. The color of the ‘hair’ stands out with the bright green of the spirals.

On tree ferns (below), the fiddleheads start out without any green at all and then expand as they unfurl – revealing the green frond.

Next spring I’ll photography fiddleheads in our nearby woodlands….if I can get my timing right. They might not be as large as these from the conservatory at Longwood…but they are a joy to find and a sign of spring.