Osmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns. One of these, the Cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) forms huge clonal colonies in swamp areas. These ferns form massive rootstocks with densely-matted, wiry roots. This root mass is an excellent substrate for many epiphytal plants. They are often harvested as osmunda fiber and used horticulturally, especially in propagating and growing orchids.
The spore is borne in large, naked sporangia that are borne in dense masses on completely dimorphic fronds or pinnae. Because of the pure mass of sporangia that uniformly ripen at the same time to a showy golden color, the ferns look somewhat like they are in flower, and so this group is called the flowering ferns.
