A fiddlehead, that small plant that grows in the Saint John River Valley in the spring, and which is said to be symbolic of the sun. — Alfred Bailey
The season of the fiddlehead is upon us. The tightly curled young tips of various ferns are called by this name because they resemble the coiled finial of a violin's neck. In Asia and the Pacific region, many types of fiddleheads are eaten. Japanese varieties include warabi (bracken fern), zenmai (osmund or cinnamon fern) and kogomi (ostrich fern).
Once a staple food of Native American tribes and Hawaiian islanders, these wild vegetables, which taste similar to asparagus and okra, are enjoying something of a re-emergence in North America. Many people gather and cook the fiddleheads of ostrich ferns, and fern shoots are beginning to appear on menus and restaurant signboards — as well as in the names of some establishments. There are even fiddlehead festivals from Virginia to New Brunswick.