Fiddlehead ferns grow wild in some parts of the country. In others, they're the type of product you're more likely to find -- and probably pay top dollar for -- at an upscale grocery store.

T his fiddlehead fern recipe is sauteed up with ginger and garlic and served over thin rice noodles. Fiddlehead ferns are ...

Soon after the fertile fronds appear, the ferns sprout sterile, yellowish-green fiddlehead fronds that become ... pink (Helonias bullata), and great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica).

Trim stem 1-2 inches from fern and wash the fiddleheads in a coarse strainer. Place them in a large bowl of water and swirl them around, rubbing off the thin flakes of chaff on the ferns.