What is "matteuccia struthiopteris"

fiddlehead \fid"dle*head`\ n.

1. any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.

   Syn: ostrich fern, shuttlecock fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteretis struthiopteris, Onoclea struthiopteris.

2. New World fern ( Osmunda cinnamonea) having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds, called also fiddlehead fern; the early uncurling fronds are edible, and sometimes considered as a vegetable delicacy.

   Syn: cinnamon fern, fiddlehead fern, Osmunda cinnamonea.

3. (Naut.) an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. Sometimes it serves the function of a billhead.