Matteuccia is a genus of ferns with one species: Matteuccia struthiopteris (common names ostrich fern, fiddlehead fern, or shuttlecock fern). The species epithet struthiopteris comes from Ancient Greek words () "ostrich" and () "fern". The fertile fronds are shorter, long, brown when ripe, Formerly classified as a member of the Dryopteridaceae, Matteuccia has been reassigned to the new much smaller family Onocleaceae.
Distribution
thumb|left|Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Todaro, [[:fr:Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade#Photos|Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Quebec, Canada]]
It is a crown-forming, colony-forming plant, occurring in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in central and northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. It grows from a completely vertical crown, favoring riverbanks and sandbars, but sends out lateral stolons to form new crowns. It can thus form dense colonies resistant to destruction by floodwaters.
Cultivation and uses
left|thumb|upright|Spore-bearing fertile fronds in early spring
thumb|Fiddlehead sprouts for sale in [[Japan]]
The ostrich fern is a popular ornamental plant in gardens. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. While choosing a place of planting it should be taken into account that this fern is very expansive and its leaves often lose their beauty throughout the summer, especially if not protected from wind and hail.
The tightly wound immature fronds, called fiddleheads, are also used as a cooked vegetable, and are considered a delicacy mainly in rural areas of northeastern North America. It is considered inadvisable to eat uncooked fiddleheads. Brown "scales" are inedible and should be scraped or rinsed off.
The sprouts are also picked all over Japan, ("kogomi" in Japanese) as well as in other Asian regions, where they are considered a delicacy.
Additionally, in Norway, fiddleheads were apparently used in the manufacture of beer, and in Russia, in the control of gut parasites.