This is a perennial fern with ovate, lance-shaped, sterile fronds 2 to 5 feet tall with pinnate segments surrounding much narrower erect fertile fronds. The top of each fertile frond is a mass of cinnamon-brown sporangia (equivalent to seeds in more developed plants) from which it takes its name. It grows in moist, fertile soil, along ponds where it can make a striking focal point, or in backgrounds of perennial beds as long as they are kept damp. It is hardy in USDA Zone 4.