Ostrich fern makes the best edible spring fiddleheads of any fern around.  I like to brush off the papery scales, add salt, and steam them lightly to bring out the asparagus-like flavor.  Though lady fern and bracken fiddleheads are good, these are better!

These plants thrive in moist, rich soil with lots of organic matter in the shade or dappled sunlight under mature trees.  If the soil is loose and fertile enough, you’ll have new baby ferns pop up several feet away via underground rhizomes so that you can increase your harvest each year.