Pteridium aquilinum – bracken
Common Name
bracken
Alternate Common Names
- bracken fern
Family
Athyriaceae
Scientific Name
Pteridium aquilinum
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
- Dry (D)
- Moderately Dry (MD)
- Medium (M)
- Wet (W)
Soil Nutrient Regime (SNR)
- Poor (P)
Video link
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual © 1973. Reprinted with permission of the University of Washington Press.
General / Habitat
- One of the world’s most ancient and widespread ferns,
- Grows from lush forests to sterile or even acidic soils
- Occurs from low to subalpine elevations
- Weedy
Key Identifying Characteristics
Lookalikes
- Dryopteris expansa (spiny wood fern)
- leaflet pair closest to base is asymmetrical in spiny but symmetrical/triangle-shaped in bracken
Interesting Characteristics
- can release allelopathic chemicals, especially when establishing after a fire, that locally limit growth & establishment of other plants
- Fiddleheads have been consumed by people of different cultures worldwide, though they are now known to be carcinogenic
External References
Sources
Douglas, G.W. et al (Editors). 1998-2002. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Volumes 1 to 8. B.C. Min. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Min. For., Victoria, B.C.
Pojar, J. and A. MacKinnon. 2014. Plants of Coastal British Columbia Including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. B.C. Ministry of Forestry and Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, B.C.