The Shuttlecock

This fern is one of the most distinctive of all hardy ferns because of the wonderful arrangement of the unfolding fronds. Not only does each frond have the appearance of a cobra rising from the snake charmer's basket, but the whole thing assumes the shape of a shuttlecock as the fronds emerge. Later on they open out and look more like a traditional fern.

Known as the shuttlecock, or ostrich fern, Matteuchia struthiopteris has the added attraction, or otherwise, of spreading by underground runners, or stolons, fast enough to be invasive. Native to northern Europe and Asia.

There is a similar fern in North America, sometimes said to be the same species, and known by Americans as Matteuchia pennsylvanica. The young emerging fronds, or fiddleheads, are cooked as a vegetable in New England. We have both species here.