Osmunda cinnamomea
This native eastern North American wetland fern thrives in moist, acidic soils in shade, forms clumps up to 2–6 feet tall, and produces early-spring fertile fronds that turn cinnamon-brown alongside lush sterile fronds through summer.
Common Names
Cinnamon Fern, Buckhorn Fern, Buckhorn
Summary
Cinnamon fern is a North American native, deciduous perennial that forms loose rosettes in moist, boggy habitats such as swamps, bogs, wet woods, and streambanks, typically 2-3 feet tall with a similar spread and up to 6 feet under constant moisture, sterile blue-green fronds surround shorter fertile fronds, which are cinnamon-brown and bear cinnamon-colored sporangia that give a cinnamon-stick appearance, in cultivation it prefers partial shade to shade and consistently moist, acidic, humus-rich soils, tolerating standing water, mulch helps retain moisture, and propagation occurs by division in spring or fall or by sowing spores, though establishment is slow but plants are long-lived, suitable for bog gardens, pond margins, rain gardens, and woodland landscapes, where the contrasting fertile and sterile fronds provide striking visual interest in very wet sites
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
2-5 feet
Spread
24-36 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 3-9
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally partial shade; tolerates full shade; full sun only with constant moisture.
Soil Type
Moist, acidic, humus-rich soil
Soil Drainage
Moist, well-drained soil that remains consistently moist.
Soil pH
4.5-7.5, Acidic to neutral
Bloom Color
Insignificant
Bloom Time
Non-flowering
Foliage Color
Green, with fertile fronds turning cinnamon-colored as they mature.
Fall Foliage Color
Yellow
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Moderate
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, and Fall.
Propagation Methods
Spores and Division
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts birds.
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- L.
- Publication
- Sp. Pl. : 1066 (1753)
- Synonym Of
- Osmundastrum cinnamomeum