Greetings nature lovers!

A few weeks ago, on a lovely afternoon hike with some friends up Gile Mountain, I stumbled upon a very cool plant that I recognized immediately. Fiddleheads! Of course, I held up the group for some time as I photographed my findings and studied the funky-looking plant.

As soon as I saw the plant, I was brought back to the days growing up when my parents would buy fiddleheads from a farmer’s market and cook them to have with dinner. You can take my word for it–they are absolutely delicious!

Doing some research later, I found that fiddleheads are the fronds (large, divided leaves) of a young fern and are often harvested for use as a vegetable. If the fiddleheads were left on the plant and not harvested they would eventually unroll into a new frond.

Fiddleheads have a variety of names. A fiddlehead is sometimes called a crozier, named after the curved staff used by bishops. The name fiddlehead came about because the plant resembles the curled “scroll” on the end of a string instrument, such as a violin.

Have any of you seen these in the area? Has anyone eaten them before?

Until next time!
Frances