crosier

fern leaf
Also known as: crozier, fiddlehead

Learn about this topic in these articles:

life cycle of ferns

  • weeping willow tree
    In plant: Subclass Polypodiidae

    …coiled in the bud (fiddleheads) and uncurl in a type of leaf development called circinate vernation. Fern leaves are either whole or variously divided. The leaf types are differentiated into rachis (axis of a compound leaf), pinnae (primary divisions), and pinnules (ultimate segments of a pinna). Fern leaves often…

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protection for embryonic fern cells

use as food

  • tree fern
    In fern: Importance to humans

    Edible fern crosiers (young leaves with coiled hook-shaped tips) are popular in some areas. The ostrich fern (Matteuccia) of northeastern North America is frequently eaten, apparently with no ill effect, but the two ferns most commonly consumed in East Asia (Osmunda and Pteridium) have been shown to…

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