Sensitive Fern

Sensitive fern, Onoclea sensibilis, is a fern of the family Onocleaceae native to eastern North America and eastern Asia, commonly found in wet meadows, marshes and floodplain woods. Its common name refers to its sterile fronds, which are unusually sensitive to frost and wither quickly at the first touch of cold weather, while its separate, dark, bead-like fertile fronds are far more durable, persisting upright through winter and releasing spores the following spring.