I bought three semi-dormant cinnamon ferns on eBay a while ago, and
now that they're well-unfolded one of them seems to be something else.
It looks almost like a cinnamon fern except the individual leaflets
(if that's the correct term) are smoother and some of the fronds have
spore-forming bodies on them. I've heard the ostrich fern compared to
the cinnamon fern, but from the pictures I've seen of the ostrich fern
the leaflets don't look smooth enough to be what I've got. What other
possibilities are there? Could this just be a freak cinnamon fern?

On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:21:32 -0400, Jim Shaffer wrote:
I bought three semi-dormant cinnamon ferns on eBay a while ago, and
now that they're well-unfolded one of them seems to be something else.
It looks almost like a cinnamon fern except the individual leaflets
(if that's the correct term) are smoother and some of the fronds have
spore-forming bodies on them. I've heard the ostrich fern compared to

Osmunda cinnamomea, cinnamon fern, has separate fertile and sterile fronds.
The two don't look at all alike. What I think you're describing is
sori (clusters of sporangia) dotted on the underside of the frond?

At any rate, cinnamon fern should look like this:
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/...mundacinn.html

Is that even close to what you have? Can you post a photo to a web page
and give us the URL?

Pictures are now at http://www.pbase.com/jim_shaffer/unknown_fern
(click the thumbnails, full-resolution images are still available)

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 19:26:29 -0400, Jim Shaffer wrote:

Pictures are now at http://www.pbase.com/jim_shaffer/unknown_fern
(click the thumbnails, full-resolution images are still available)

Osmunda regalis?

On Mon, 05 Jun 2006 09:58:08 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 19:26:29 -0400, Jim Shaffer wrote:

Pictures are now at http://www.pbase.com/jim_shaffer/unknown_fern
(click the thumbnails, full-resolution images are still available)

Osmunda regalis?

I think that's it, thanks! I think I'll remove it from the cinnamon
fern planting and give it a space by itself.