Kavasch, Barrie. 1979. Native Harvests. Recipes and Botanicals of the American Indian. Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, New York.
This is our common, most widespread fern, rising singly from long, slender rhizomes in dry, sandy soils. The small fiddleheads are distinctly three-forked, easily picked and cleaned, and delicious raw, especially in salads. Lightly steamed, these fiddleheads are excellent pickled or used with other vegetables. The Indians pounded the rootstocks into flour for bread.
