diff --git a/lib/spack/llnl/util/filesystem.py b/lib/spack/llnl/util/filesystem.py
index f8d77e2727..6b92a374c7 100644
--- a/lib/spack/llnl/util/filesystem.py
+++ b/lib/spack/llnl/util/filesystem.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 import errno
 import hashlib
 import fileinput
-import fnmatch
 import glob
 import numbers
 import os
@@ -606,7 +605,7 @@ def fix_darwin_install_name(path):
                     break
 
 
-def find(root, files, recurse=True):
+def find(root, files, recursive=True):
     """Search for ``files`` starting from the ``root`` directory.
 
     Like GNU/BSD find but written entirely in Python.
@@ -627,7 +626,7 @@ def find(root, files, recurse=True):
 
     is equivalent to:
 
-    >>> find('/usr/local/bin', 'python', recurse=False)
+    >>> find('/usr/local/bin', 'python', recursive=False)
 
     Accepts any glob characters accepted by fnmatch:
 
@@ -652,7 +651,7 @@ def find(root, files, recurse=True):
     if isinstance(files, six.string_types):
         files = [files]
 
-    if recurse:
+    if recursive:
         return _find_recursive(root, files)
     else:
         return _find_non_recursive(root, files)
@@ -666,11 +665,14 @@ def _find_recursive(root, search_files):
     # found in a key, and reconstructing the stable order later.
     found_files = collections.defaultdict(list)
 
+    # Make the path absolute to have os.walk also return an absolute path
+    root = os.path.abspath(root)
+
     for path, _, list_files in os.walk(root):
         for search_file in search_files:
-            for list_file in list_files:
-                if fnmatch.fnmatch(list_file, search_file):
-                    found_files[search_file].append(join_path(path, list_file))
+            matches = glob.glob(os.path.join(path, search_file))
+            matches = [os.path.join(path, x) for x in matches]
+            found_files[search_file].extend(matches)
 
     answer = []
     for search_file in search_files:
@@ -684,10 +686,13 @@ def _find_non_recursive(root, search_files):
     # can return files in any order (does not preserve stability)
     found_files = collections.defaultdict(list)
 
-    for list_file in os.listdir(root):
-        for search_file in search_files:
-            if fnmatch.fnmatch(list_file, search_file):
-                found_files[search_file].append(join_path(root, list_file))
+    # Make the path absolute to have absolute path returned
+    root = os.path.abspath(root)
+
+    for search_file in search_files:
+        matches = glob.glob(os.path.join(root, search_file))
+        matches = [os.path.join(root, x) for x in matches]
+        found_files[search_file].extend(matches)
 
     answer = []
     for search_file in search_files:
@@ -878,7 +883,7 @@ def add_macro(self, macro):
         self._macro_definitions.append(macro)
 
 
-def find_headers(headers, root, recurse=False):
+def find_headers(headers, root, recursive=False):
     """Returns an iterable object containing a list of full paths to
     headers if found.
 
@@ -896,7 +901,7 @@ def find_headers(headers, root, recurse=False):
     Parameters:
         headers (str or list of str): Header name(s) to search for
         root (str): The root directory to start searching from
-        recurses (bool, optional): if False search only root folder,
+        recursive (bool, optional): if False search only root folder,
             if True descends top-down from the root. Defaults to False.
 
     Returns:
@@ -916,7 +921,7 @@ def find_headers(headers, root, recurse=False):
     # List of headers we are searching with suffixes
     headers = ['{0}.{1}'.format(header, suffix) for header in headers]
 
-    return HeaderList(find(root, headers, recurse))
+    return HeaderList(find(root, headers, recursive))
 
 
 class LibraryList(FileList):
@@ -1057,7 +1062,7 @@ def find_system_libraries(libraries, shared=True):
 
     for library in libraries:
         for root in search_locations:
-            result = find_libraries(library, root, shared, recurse=True)
+            result = find_libraries(library, root, shared, recursive=True)
             if result:
                 libraries_found += result
                 break
@@ -1065,7 +1070,7 @@ def find_system_libraries(libraries, shared=True):
     return libraries_found
 
 
-def find_libraries(libraries, root, shared=True, recurse=False):
+def find_libraries(libraries, root, shared=True, recursive=False):
     """Returns an iterable of full paths to libraries found in a root dir.
 
     Accepts any glob characters accepted by fnmatch:
@@ -1084,7 +1089,7 @@ def find_libraries(libraries, root, shared=True, recurse=False):
         root (str): The root directory to start searching from
         shared (bool, optional): if True searches for shared libraries,
             otherwise for static. Defaults to True.
-        recurse (bool, optional): if False search only root folder,
+        recursive (bool, optional): if False search only root folder,
             if True descends top-down from the root. Defaults to False.
 
     Returns:
@@ -1106,4 +1111,4 @@ def find_libraries(libraries, root, shared=True, recurse=False):
     # List of libraries we are searching with suffixes
     libraries = ['{0}.{1}'.format(lib, suffix) for lib in libraries]
 
-    return LibraryList(find(root, libraries, recurse))
+    return LibraryList(find(root, libraries, recursive))
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/mixins.py b/lib/spack/spack/mixins.py
index 0a43e76961..d16f572a4e 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/mixins.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/mixins.py
@@ -163,6 +163,11 @@ def filter_compiler_wrappers(*files, **kwargs):
                 these two keyword arguments, if present, will be forwarded
                 to ``filter_file`` (see its documentation for more information
                 on their behavior)
+
+            recursive
+                this keyword argument, if present, will be forwarded to
+                ``find`` (see its documentation for more information on the
+                behavior)
     """
     after = kwargs.get('after', 'install')
     relative_root = kwargs.get('relative_root', None)
@@ -173,6 +178,10 @@ def filter_compiler_wrappers(*files, **kwargs):
         'string': True
     }
 
+    find_kwargs = {
+        'recursive': kwargs.get('recursive', False)
+    }
+
     def _filter_compiler_wrappers_impl(self):
         # Compute the absolute path of the search root
         root = os.path.join(
@@ -181,7 +190,7 @@ def _filter_compiler_wrappers_impl(self):
 
         # Compute the absolute path of the files to be filtered and
         # remove links from the list.
-        abs_files = llnl.util.filesystem.find(root, files)
+        abs_files = llnl.util.filesystem.find(root, files, **find_kwargs)
         abs_files = [x for x in abs_files if not os.path.islink(x)]
 
         x = llnl.util.filesystem.FileFilter(*abs_files)
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/spec.py b/lib/spack/spack/spec.py
index 61f127a66c..341e266493 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/spec.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/spec.py
@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ def _headers_default_handler(descriptor, spec, cls):
     Raises:
         RuntimeError: If no headers are found
     """
-    headers = find_headers('*', root=spec.prefix.include, recurse=True)
+    headers = find_headers('*', root=spec.prefix.include, recursive=True)
 
     if headers:
         return headers
@@ -731,22 +731,22 @@ def _libs_default_handler(descriptor, spec, cls):
 
     if '+shared' in spec:
         libs = find_libraries(
-            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=True, recurse=True
+            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=True, recursive=True
         )
     elif '~shared' in spec:
         libs = find_libraries(
-            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=False, recurse=True
+            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=False, recursive=True
         )
     else:
         # Prefer shared
         libs = find_libraries(
-            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=True, recurse=True
+            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=True, recursive=True
         )
         if libs:
             return libs
 
         libs = find_libraries(
-            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=False, recurse=True
+            name, root=spec.prefix, shared=False, recursive=True
         )
 
     if libs:
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/a/foobar.txt b/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/a/foobar.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/b/bar.txp b/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/b/bar.txp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/c/bar.txt b/lib/spack/spack/test/data/directory_search/c/bar.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/llnl/util/file_list.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/llnl/util/file_list.py
index f7d5dde4d3..d92f15c5e1 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/llnl/util/file_list.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/llnl/util/file_list.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 import six
 import spack
 from llnl.util.filesystem import LibraryList, HeaderList
-from llnl.util.filesystem import find_libraries, find_headers
+from llnl.util.filesystem import find_libraries, find_headers, find
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
@@ -215,36 +215,40 @@ def test_add(self, header_list):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('search_fn,search_list,root,kwargs', [
-    (find_libraries, 'liba', search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['liba'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, 'libb', search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['libc'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['libc', 'liba'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['liba', 'libc'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['libc', 'libb', 'liba'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_libraries, ['liba', 'libc'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
+    (find_libraries, 'liba', search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries, ['liba'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries, 'libb', search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries, ['libc'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries, ['libc', 'liba'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries, ['liba', 'libc'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
     (find_libraries,
      ['libc', 'libb', 'liba'],
      search_dir,
-     {'recurse': True, 'shared': False}
+     {'recursive': True}
      ),
-    (find_headers, 'a', search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['a'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, 'b', search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['c'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['c', 'a'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['a', 'c'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['c', 'b', 'a'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
-    (find_headers, ['a', 'c'], search_dir, {'recurse': True}),
+    (find_libraries, ['liba', 'libc'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_libraries,
+     ['libc', 'libb', 'liba'],
+     search_dir,
+     {'recursive': True, 'shared': False}
+     ),
+    (find_headers, 'a', search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['a'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, 'b', search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['c'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['c', 'a'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['a', 'c'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['c', 'b', 'a'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
+    (find_headers, ['a', 'c'], search_dir, {'recursive': True}),
     (find_libraries,
      ['liba', 'libd'],
      os.path.join(search_dir, 'b'),
-     {'recurse': False}
+     {'recursive': False}
      ),
     (find_headers,
      ['b', 'd'],
      os.path.join(search_dir, 'b'),
-     {'recurse': False}
+     {'recursive': False}
      ),
 ])
 def test_searching_order(search_fn, search_list, root, kwargs):
@@ -275,3 +279,20 @@ def test_searching_order(search_fn, search_list, root, kwargs):
 
     # List should be empty here
     assert len(L) == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('root,search_list,kwargs,expected', [
+    (search_dir, '*/*bar.tx?', {'recursive': False}, [
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'a/foobar.txt'),
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'b/bar.txp'),
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'c/bar.txt'),
+    ]),
+    (search_dir, '*/*bar.tx?', {'recursive': True}, [
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'a/foobar.txt'),
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'b/bar.txp'),
+        os.path.join(search_dir, 'c/bar.txt'),
+    ])
+])
+def test_find_with_globbing(root, search_list, kwargs, expected):
+    matches = find(root, search_list, **kwargs)
+    assert matches == expected
diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
index 889455aae0..3919863558 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
@@ -214,23 +214,7 @@ class Openmpi(AutotoolsPackage):
     conflicts('fabrics=pmi', when='@:1.5.4')  # PMI support was added in 1.5.5
     conflicts('fabrics=mxm', when='@:1.5.3')  # MXM support was added in 1.5.4
 
-    filter_compiler_wrappers(
-        'mpicc-vt-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpicc-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'ortecc-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'shmemcc-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpic++-vt-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpic++-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'ortec++-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpifort-vt-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpifort-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'shmemfort-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpif90-vt-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpif90-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpif77-vt-wrapper-data.txt',
-        'mpif77-wrapper-data.txt',
-        relative_root=os.path.join('share', 'openmpi')
-    )
+    filter_compiler_wrappers('openmpi/*-wrapper-data*', relative_root='share')
 
     def url_for_version(self, version):
         url = "http://www.open-mpi.org/software/ompi/v{0}/downloads/openmpi-{1}.tar.bz2"