Sensitive fern varies in height from a few inches to more than 3 ft. Its sterile fronds, which wither early, are light to brown-mottled green and deeply cut into long lobes which almost reach the stem. Twice-pinnate fertile fronds appear in late summer and, though dead, remain upright through winter. Fiddleheads appear in the spring in shades of pale red. The roots colonize but are usually shallow, though hefty. The stalks of this fern are said to have a decorative, beaded appearance, lending the plant one of its common names, Bead Fern. Common name is derived from the early sensitivity of this fern to frost.
