Fiddleheads are the tightly-spiralled sprouts of ferns. They were harvested for food by the Maliseet before being adopted by settlers from Europe and the United States.

Fiddleheads grow in rich, moist soil. The fiddlehead plant has a shoot that coils upward with tightly-coiled leaves that are reminiscent of the tuning head of a violin.

In recent years, these ferny fronds have been harvested commercially, frozen and then shipped to other parts of North America.

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