Fiddleheads growth.

I found my secret stash in the catskills I think. Was swimming in fiddleheads on my hike there this past weekend. I'm curious as to how do they grow? Do they grow straight and then curl up, or do they grow curled up and then unfurl as they get older. I noticed some of the ones in really swampy marshland to be really fuzzy covered in whitish moss like stuff. Are these new growth?

Jay

Jay,

I don't know much about the Fiddleheads except what I've observed. We've been out on ADK bushwacks the last 3 weekends.
As we've climbed higher, I notice that the Fiddleheads are smaller. They seem to start short and all rolled up. As they mature, the stems get longer and the head start unfurling. The previous years stems lay dead and in a circle on the ground. They were EVERYWHERE on the hike we did today.

This is also just an observation but I walk 5-10 km every day regardless of hiking and run into them as I walk. I believe they start low in the coiled postion. As the coil starts to unravel it becomes higher, much like a coiled rope would get longer. When the plant grows higher it gets more exposure to the sun and inceased photosynthesis occurs makining the plant uravel the leaves inside of the coil to collect sun and grow. When it reaches the end of the coil it remains the plant you see all summer.

On a side note they tase great with a little butter or a light chicken stock.

The fiddleheads emerge out of the mud tightly coiled and are better the earlier they are picked. The comment by another poster about finding them higher up should be taken with some caution, only the fiddleheads from the ostrich fern are edible (although there was a recent post about health effects). The ostrich fern typically only grows in flood plains where the rivers and steam typically flood and deposit a layer of silt. If you dont need rubber boots to pick them, you may not be picking the right ones. There are somewhat similiar ferns that grow higher up in damp areas but they are typically not ostrich ferns.

Fuzzy

The fuzzy ones are not the fern of choice. You want the ones with a brown husk like an onion skin.

The edible fiddleheads are dark green, smooth, and will have a brownish skin or husk along the sides of the fiddle. If they are hairy at all, stay away from them. Also, when snapped off, the stem will be slightly indented on the inside edge, under the fiddle.
I think that they may be done for this year, and I never got out to get any.