Acadia National Park - Ferns

Another pair of related common ferns are cinnamon fern ( Osmunda cinnamomea ) and interrupted fern ( Osmunda claytoniana ). These two also look very much alike. Both are large ferns with non-fertile (vegetative) fronds arranged in whorls around the center. Cinnamon fern has separate, fertile, spore-producing fronds which sprout from the center of the plant in spring. These fronds are a cinnamon-like golden brown in color, which accounts for the plant"s common name. Interrupted fern produces fertile leaflets in the upper third of the vegetative fronds, hence the frond is "interrupted" by the smaller fertile leaflets "within" the frond.