Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Polypodiales > Onocleaceae > Matteuccia > Matteuccia struthiopteris

Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern)

Synonyms: Onoclea struthiopteris; Struthiopteris germanica var. pensylvanica; Struthiopteris nodulosa var. pubescens

Wikipedia Abstract

Matteuccia is a genus of ferns with one species Matteuccia struthiopteris (common names ostrich fern, fiddlehead fern or shuttlecock fern). 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. The species epithet struthiopteris comes from Ancient Greek words, struthio meaning ostrich and pterion meaning wing. Matteuccia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Sthenopis auratus.
View Wikipedia Record: Matteuccia struthiopteris

Infraspecies

Matteuccia struthiopteris sinuata
Matteuccia struthiopteris struthiopteris (Ostrich Fern)
Matteuccia struthiopteris var. acutiloba
Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica
Matteuccia struthiopteris var. struthiopteris

Attributes

Edible [1]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Hazards [1]  Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable; Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase;
Lifespan [1]  Perennial
Structure [1]  Fern
Usage [1]  Plants make a good ground cover; They spread slowly and the fronds tend to die off earlier in the autumn than most ferns;
Height [1]  39 inches (1 m)
Width [1]  20 inches (0.5 m)
Light Preference [2]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [2]  Neutral
Soil Fertility [2]  Rich
Soil Moisture [2]  Damp
View Plants For A Future Record : Matteuccia struthiopteris

Protected Areas

Predators

Amphorophora ampullata[3]
Blasticotoma filiceti[3]
Stromboceros delicatulus[3]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 2Ellenberg, H., Weber, H.E., Dull, R., Wirth, V., Werner, W., Paulissen, D. (1991) Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica 18, 1–248
♦ 3Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0