I am always attracted to the beautiful forms of a fiddlehead as it gradually unfurls from a tightly coiled spiral into a full-fledged fern frond. I have no idea if the process takes days or weeks, but but it was amazing to see the various stages of development of the fiddleheads that I have spotted during recent forays into a forest in Prince William County, Virginia.
The first two photos make it pretty obvious that the fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (technically called a “scroll”) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a violin that are traditionally carved in the shape of a volute (a rolled-up spiral). As I was poking about on the internet, I also learned that the fiddlehead stage of a fern is sometimes known as a crozier, the term used for the hooked staff carried by a bishop as a symbol of pastoral office.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike I am guessing days say 2 or 3 though it is just a guess. I have some growing in my yard so with a little luck I can check. The fiddle heads always amaze me. And these are fuzzy. Neat.
Do you know, John, if all ferns grow this way? I have heard that fiddleheads are tasty when sautéed. Have you ever tasted them?
Mike – I have yet to try fiddleheads. I recall seeing something that said they must be cooked before eating.
A very nice change of pace article. Macro photography like this makes me want to ‘borrow’ Ellen’s lens. Really nice 👏👏
Be careful, Ted. The macro world will suck you into its vortex. Macro photography requires a different approach than your more-action oriented wildlife photography. It is more deliberated and slow-paced. Some wildlife photographers might not like it, but your shots of historic buildings and cemeteries suggest to me that you don’t mind at all stepping out of your primary area of photography.
Actually Ellen and I have talked about our ‘future’ photography. Our gear is getting old, my hips along with it, and really how many white birds and big lizards do you shoot…and it can be hard work.
I’ll let Ellen experiment and watch what happens 😂😂.
Nice series of images Mike!
Nice macros, Mike. I like how in the last image, you can see the immature spore casings, very cool.
The ones that grow where I work take about 4-5 days from the time they first show until they start to unfurl but it depends on the species and the weather.
Not all fiddleheads are edible; some are be considered toxic because of the carcinogens found in them.
They’re all beautiful though and you got some really good shots of them.
Love your middle photo Mike, it’s really sweet. The baby fern spiral is called a koru here in NZ, much loved symbol!
Thanks, Liz. I think it was almost a year ago that I posted some similar images and Gary Bolstadt commented about the koru’s revered status in New Zealand. I think it is really cool that it is often used in Māori art as a symbol of creation.
Beautiful Mike. There is something mesmerising about the endless spirals.
Thanks, Chris. Those kind of spirals appear in other places in nature and I immediately think of nautilus shells when I see such a spiral.
All elegant captures, Mike!
Thanks, Ellen.
Our little fern grove, started in 2012 or 2013 with one transplanted fern, is popping. I love ferns and enjoy your images of the fiddleheads in this post!
Thanks, Nina. I know almost nothing about ferns, but my eye was definitely caught last year and then this year by the shapes of the fiddleheads.
And then that lanugo hair is gone! Poof!!