A clump-forming, upright to arching, rhizomatous, deciduous fern which typically grows 2-3' tall  but may reach 6' tall in moist, cool climates in the wild. Finely dissected, medium green, vegetative (sterile) fronds which, as the common name suggests, exhibit the feathery appearance of long ostrich plumes. The fronds emerge at the narrow base of the clumps in spring as the familiar "fiddleheads" from where they unfurl to a maximum length of 4'.