In Asia it occurs from southeastern Siberia south through Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan to Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Osmundastrum cinnamomeum has a fossil record extending into the Late Cretaceous of North America, approximately 70 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living plant species.

Osmundastrum cinnamomeum is a deciduous herbaceous plant that produces separate fertile and sterile fronds.

[8] Formerly, some authors included the interrupted fern, Osmunda claytoniana, in the genus or section Osmundastrum, because of its gross apparent morphological similarities.

Osmundastrum cinnamomeum is considered a living fossil because it has been identified in the geologic record as far back as 75 million years ago.

According to the Native American Ethnobotany Database, cinnamon fern has been historically used by first nations tribes (Abnaki, Menominee) as a food source.