fiddlehead
fiddlehead , noun
1.
any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.
2.
New World fern (Osmunda cinnamonea) having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds, called also fiddlehead fern; the early uncurling fronds are edible, and sometimes considered as a vegetable delicacy.
3.
(Nautical) an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. Sometimes it serves the function of a billhead.