VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Osmunda cinnamomea | Cinnamon Fern 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
Cinnamon fern was grazed by cattle in southeastern North Carolina in
pond pine (Pinus rigida var. serotina) forests.  It ranked second only
to cane (Arundinaria gigantea) in cattle preference.  In May, before
cane fully leafed out, 30 to 50 percent of available cinnamon fern
herbage was utilized, after which fern utilization practically ceased.
Cinnamon fern was palatable for about a month after fronds unrolled [53].

White-tailed deer were observed grazing substantial amounts of cinnamon
fern in southwestern Virginia in 1982 [62].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Cinnamon fern coiled fiddlehead leaves up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall can
be collected in the spring, steamed or boiled, and eaten [15].

Cinnamon fern spore germination in liquid medium is useful for bioassay
of toxic copper, cadmium, and zinc concentrations [19].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Cattle grazed cinnamon fern in southeastern North Carolina, but because
of the short time it was utilized, grazing had relatively little effect
on the total fern stand.  In places where grazing was heavy, the density
and vigor of cinnamon fern was noticeably reduced.  Cinnamon fern was
more abundant on unlogged than on logged sites, in both grazed and
ungrazed conditions [53].

Cinnamon fern in southeastern Connecticut was an associate in lowland
hardwood and shrub communities subjected to 20 years of herbicide use on
trees to maintain shrubs.  Cinnamon fern cover was 1 to 5 percent both
before herbicide treatment began in 1953 and after 20 years of treatment [47].

Cinnamon fern in Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) wetlands
in New Jersey occurred in sites of all disturbance classes studied
including undisturbed sites, those in housing developments, and those at
stormwater drain outfalls [13].

Cinnamon fern in eastern Quebec was present in a northern hardwoods site
that was clearcut and subjected to three experimental disturbance
treatments:  prepared with a V-blade (high intensity), prepared with a
toothed brush rake (medium intensity), or disked (low intensity).
Cinnamon fern was more common on the low-disturbance site but survived
on other sites [24].

Cinnamon fern in naturally regenerated, mature slash pine (Pinus
elliottii) flatwoods in southeastern Florida was present at 1.3
kilograms per hectare foliage biomass.  The site was then clearcut in
the fall of 1978, prepared by burning, shearing and piling, discing and
bedding, and planted to slash pine in 1979.  In two subsequent
vegetation surveys in the summers of 1980 and 1981, cinnamon fern was
not present [8].

Cinnamon fern frequently forms large clumps [7] and may produce almost
all the understory cover in swamps with dense overstory shade [4].

Related categories for Species: Osmunda cinnamomea | Cinnamon Fern