Cinnamon fern in our neighborhood.  I looked it up to be sure, and yep!!!  I love when that happens.  We've been calling this beautiful thing "Cinnamon fern" for years, and sure enough, Wikipedia calls it that too.  Botanically, it is Osmundastrum cinnamomeum.

 

This one grows down by the creek on Stonebriar Road.  We always look for it in the spring, and praise the lawn guys for not mowing it.  Actually, as you can see, it would be hard to miss.  I'm in the picture to show you how big it is.  I'm 5 feet tall, and this fern is, well, you can see...about that.

 

I read this about it:  it is native to the Americas and Eastern Asia.  It resides in swamps, bogs, and moist woodlands.  The green 'leaves' are the sterile fronds, and the reddish-brown 'spikes' are the fertile fronds.  The fertile fronds appear after the green fronds are about 4 feet tall.  The fertile fronds are full of spores that drop to the ground and form colonies of ferns.  So far, our colony consists of two large ferns, but it comes back every year.

 

Be on the lookout for it in your travels.  It will make you smile;  and now you know what to call it.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!