Tammy SonsFounder/CEO, TN Nursery · CEO TN Nursery

OSTRICH FERN - TN NURSERY

20 Jul 2022 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:24

In this narrated segment, the speaker introduces the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), highlighting its popularity as an ornamental plant across various garden settings. The fern is native to North America and has earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The plant is deciduous and exhibits dimorphic fronds: tall, vertical sterile fronds (100–170 cm tall, 20–35 cm wide) that resemble ostrich plumes, and shorter fertile fronds (40–65 cm) that transition from green to brown as they mature. The speaker describes the frond structure, noting the tapering base, feather‑like shape, compact tissue, and the stiff, pinnate leaf arrangement that curls around the sporangia, the spore‑producing organs. A brief uncertainty about the pronunciation of “pinnate” is also mentioned.

Chapters

Ostrich fern. Ostrich fern or Matas astruteobdurus is one of the favorite ornamental plants for multiple environments. It is native to North America and has managed to win the Royal Horticultural Society's award. This deciduous plant has dimorphic fronds. The sterile fronds are generally vertical and tall, growing up to 100-170 cm plus taking up the width of about 20-35 cm. They are named after ostrich plumes as as they resemble them in shape. The base is long tapering, and as we move above the tip, it gradually becomes short tapering. This looks exactly like the shape of a fully grown ostrich feather, hence the name. On the other hand, the fertile fronds of this plant are shorter in size and grow about 40 to 65 centimeters long. Fertile fronds form a brown color when mature entirely but green in the earlier stages. Its leaves are made of compact tissues, and they curl around the spore-forming organs i.e., sporangia. Its fronds have relatively stiff pinnate— pin-neth? Pinnyth? Pinyth? Piney?