The Christmas Fern can be found in a wide variety of habitats and locations, particularly on shady hillsides and wooded stream banks. Young fiddleheads (young ferns) are silvery and scaled, and are found in the spring. Unlike some native ferns whose fiddleheads are edible and quite yummy (like the ostrich or garden fern), Christmas ferns are best left off the plate. The Christmas fern is used for healing wounds and making tea. They are rarely eaten by grazers because of the chemicals within them. The fern lives in humus soil. Humus soil is soil with micro-organisms. The micro-organisms help with the growth of the soil. You might be able to find this during hiking.