The ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthioteris), is an elegant upright clumping fiddlehead fern with large fronds which resemble the tail feathers of an ostrich. Growing up to six feet tall in full or part shade, it is found at Glenstone along the path near Tony Smith's Smug, 1973/2005, around Richard Serra's Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, 2017, and along the Woodland Trail. Although thriving in shady woodlands, it also thrives in shady backyard home gardens, but it requires moist cool soils and is intolerant of hot and dry conditions. The species forms colonies by sending out stolons, which are specialized plant stems that spread laterally. Its tall infertile green fronds appear first, then smaller fertile fronds develop, turning brown and dispersing spores during the winter.

–Tim Curley and Bonne Di Giansante