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Early spring growth with fertile fronds in the center. The plant is quite upright and compact at first, sort of spreading later in the season...allow plenty of room for it.
This is not a royal fern, Osmunda regalis. They do not have separate fertile fronds. What you have here is probably a cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamomea.
Hello Janet,
Thank you for your concerns about my identification of this plant, but there is no error in my labeling. I did not state that the fertile fronds are separate.
The fertile fronds are not separate...they are just at the the terminal points of regular fronds that are growing in the center of the plant...not all the fronds are fertile. This is certainly labeled Osmunda regalis and matches all the pictures I have seen so far, and that includes several books I own about Missouri native ferns. I have also seen this plant growing in the wild here in my area and confirmed my identification.
I also grow the cinnamon fern...they are very different looking from the regal fern and could not be easily confused by someone who has a degree in horticulture (me). Here is a picture of the cinnamon fern: http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/4163/
Hope this helps you in your quest for knowledge.
Toxi
