Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris
This tall, elegant fern forms a neat, vase-like clump and has long, closely spaced pinnae that make it easy to recognize. The fronds are broadest above the middle. The only specimens found at Fresh Pond Reservation are a few young plants in the small "plant island" next to the sinuous wooden bench at the dog beach on Little Fresh Pond. If these plants survive to maturity, each year they will produce compact, dark brown, fertile (spore-producing) fronds that survive the winter while the sterile fronds die.