North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Osmunda cinnamomea

Osmunda cinnamomea L.

cinnamon fern

Image ID: 17355
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: OSCI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Osmunda cinnamomea
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-10-18
SELECTED SYNONYM: Osmundastrum cinnamomeum

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: OSMUN
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Osmunda
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Osmunda
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of ca. 7 species, if circumscribed (as here) to exclude Todea, Leptopteris, and Osmundastrum, following Metzgar et al. (2008). Our two species are in separate clades within Osmunda that are estimated to have diverged over 100 million years ago (Schneider et al. 2015).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Metzgar et al. (2008)=Z; Zhang, Iwatsuki, & Kadokawa in FoC (2013); Tsutsumi et al. (2011); Lellinger (1985); Whetstone & Atkinson in FNA (1993b); Kramer in Kramer & Green (1990); Yatabe, Nishida, & Murakami (1999).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: OSMUND
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Osmundaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Martinov 1820
FAMILY COMMON: Royal Fern Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 4 genera and about 15-25 species. Schneider et al. (2015) estimate the divergence time between Osmundastrum and Osmunda at > 200 million years.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Metzgar et al. (2008)=Z; Schneider et al. (2015); Lellinger (1985); Whetstone & Atkinson in FNA (1993b); Kramer in Kramer & Green (1990); Yatabe, Nishida, & Murakami (1999).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 2-3 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb, Fern

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Mar-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
			x								x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America to Mexico, Central & South America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Cinnamon Fern is so named because of the cinnamon-colored fibers at the base of its fronds. This fern produces showy large fiddleheads in the spring. It grows at a moderate pace and forms clumps 2-3 feet wide. Once established, each fern’s fronds are displayed in an upright "vase" shape. Its fronds turn yellow, then bronze, in the fall. This native fern is typically found growing in moist soils alongside streams and on shaded ledges and bluffs.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes: The Cherokee and Iroquois tribes used this fern for treating rheumatism and colds.

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 2
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 10
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: OSCI
USDA Common Name: Cinnamon Fern
Native Status: L48 (N), PR (N), CAN (N), SPM (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV), USA+ (PR), CAN (LB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, QC), FRA (SPM)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
COMMON NAME: Cinnamon Fern
SYNONYMY: [= Ar, FoC, Tn, Va, Z; = Osmunda cinnamomea Linnaeus - FNA, G, Il, Pa, RAB, S, W, WH3, WV; > Osmunda cinnamomea var. cinnamomea - C, F, K; > Osmunda cinnamomea Linnaeus var. glandulosa Waters - F, K; > Osmundastrum cinnamomeum var. cinnamomeum - Y; > Osmundastrum cinnamomeum var. glandulosum (Waters) McAvoy - Y]
PHENOLOGY: Mar-May.
HABITAT: Bogs, peatlands, pocosins, wet savannas, floodplains, blackwater stream swamps, and other wetlands.
COMMENTS: NL (Labrador) west to MN, south to s. FL, c. TX; Mexico south through Central America to n. South America; West Indies; e. Asia. The species also occurs in e. Asia, where sometimes treated as a separate variety (but the combination is not available in Osmundastrum). The taxonomic significance of the densely glandular pubescent Osmundastrum cinnamomeum var. glandulosum (Waters) McAvoy needs additional evaluation; it is reported from scattered locations in e. North America, including SC and VA. Because of its geographic incoherence it is here regarded as a form.
RANGE MAP: Osmundastrum cinnamomeum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Osmundaceae Martinov 1820 (Royal Fern Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 4 genera and about 15-25 species. Schneider et al. (2015) estimate the divergence time between Osmundastrum and Osmunda at > 200 million years.
REFERENCE: Metzgar et al. (2008)=Z; Schneider et al. (2015); Lellinger (1985); Whetstone & Atkinson in FNA (1993b); Kramer in Kramer & Green (1990); Yatabe, Nishida, & Murakami (1999).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Osmunda L. (Osmunda)
SUMMARY: A genus of ca. 7 species, if circumscribed (as here) to exclude Todea, Leptopteris, and Osmundastrum, following Metzgar et al. (2008). Our two species are in separate clades within Osmunda that are estimated to have diverged over 100 million years ago (Schneider et al. 2015).
REFERENCE: Metzgar et al. (2008)=Z; Zhang, Iwatsuki, & Kadokawa in FoC (2013); Tsutsumi et al. (2011); Lellinger (1985); Whetstone & Atkinson in FNA (1993b); Kramer in Kramer & Green (1990); Yatabe, Nishida, & Murakami (1999).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Osmunda cinnamomea in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Osmunda cinnamomea in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Osmunda cinnamomea in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Osmunda cinnamomea in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Osmunda cinnamomea in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Osmunda cinnamomea

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 17355 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 17355 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 17341 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 24045 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)