Fiddlehead

Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a fledgling fern, harvested for use as a vegetable.

"Fiddle head" redirects here. For the part of the musical instrument, see fiddle.
For the band, see Fiddlehead (band).

Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the season before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground.

Fiddleheads from brackens contain a compound associated with bracken toxicity, and thiaminase.

The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. It is also called a crozier, after the curved staff used by bishops, which has its origins in the shepherd's crook.

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