Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

This odonym was chosen by the Municipality on September 22, 1998 to respect existing themes of trees, flowers and birds.

Fougère in French is fern in English.  Ferns are found everywhere in Potton, in all shapes and varieties.  The Adiantum pedantum, or Northern Maidenhair fern, found in wooded areas, might well be the prettiest Graceful fronds of 8 to 20'' fan gracefully in a near perfect circle, appearing to float above the ground.  Natives used teas made from these fronds to treat colds and consumption.  The Matteuccia struthopteris, or ostrich fern, has an almost tropical look and is the showiest of our ferns.  It is found in shaded areas rich in humus.  The fronds of the ostrich fern, called fiddleheads, are tightly rolled and sheathed in a papery rust coloured covering that is easily rubbed off.  Picked very young, these are considered a delicacy by many for use as a cooked vegetable, in salads and soups.  The cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) found in abundance in Potton is so called because it turns cinnamon coloured in fall.  It is considered a living fossil because it has been identified in the geologic record as far back as 6,000 years ago, although not here in Potton as far as we know!

Did you know that hummingbirds sometimes use the fuzz covering the young fronds of the cinnamon fern to line their nest?  Cinnamon ferns are found in rich wet areas of swamp and shoreline.^[1]