this "frond" has popped up in the middle of my big fern...pretty sure it is some sort of reproductive growth but what do I do with it?

Maybe spores?

Hi Cody........................
I'm pretty sure your fern is "Sensitive Fern" [Onoclea sensibilis].

Here is the description in John Mickel's terrific reference "Ferns for American Gardens":

"The sterile fronds are pinnatifid to bipinnatifid and thin-textured whereas the fertile fronds, which emerge in late summer [growing 10 to 16 inches tall], are woody with beadlike segments, brown at maturity, and persistent through the winter."
"Onoclea spreads readily by both spores and creeping rhizomes..."



If these comments describe your fern.............. you have an I.D.
And nothing to worry about.

thanks jathton..the fern is actually a regal fern, Osmunda....I have read a bit about the spores on this fern but don't have a lot of time to do anything with them this year...maybe next!

They are not harmful and the appearance of these things simply means the plant is trying to produce spores. These spores will spread far and wide, and new ferns will grow in other places from them.