Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn Common Bracken

Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn - Common Bracken

Scientific Description:

Plant 40−200 cm, underground rhizome stout, hairy. Leaves solitary, 3-pinnate, petiole stiff, erect, smooth, as long as the deltoid blade. Rachis of blade bent almost at right angles to petiole, pinnae in. l0−20 pairs, pinnules oblong, pectinate, rather acute, glabrous above, more or less woolly below. Sori continuous along the margin of the segments. Indusium membranous, ciliate at margin, attached to the recurved margin of the segment.

Spores ripe: July−October.

Habitat: In forest clearings, cleared woodland, dunes, s.l.−1900 m.

Reference:

Henderson DM (1965). Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 46.

Public Description:

Pteridium aquilinum, known as “common bracken”, is distributed in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, deciduous in winter and grows up to 3 m tall. Like other ferns, this species does not contain flower, fruit or seed. It has large leaves developing from rhizome in the underground. On the lower surface of the leaves there are brown sporangia (sori), microscopic structures (spores) produced in these vesicles are released into the environment and spores germinate in appropriate environmental conditions to develop new plants. The fiddleheads (the immature, tightly curled emerging fronds) of this plant have been considered edible by many cultures throughout history, and are still commonly used today as a foodstuff. However, studies have shown that these plants contain carcinogenic substances linked to oesophageal and stomach cancer. It is therefore not recommended to be eaten. This plant is considered as one of the most harmful invasive weeds in the world. It is an invader of open or disturbed areas with an extensive branched rhizome, which may grow to about 400 metres (1,300 feet) in length. Because the plant competes so vigorously with other plants and the leaves contain toxic chemicals, a site where this fern becomes established is soon unfit for grazing by livestock, and the other plants can not thrive.

References:

Anonymous (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteridium_aquilinum/, Accessed date: 07.02.2016.

Güner A (2012). Pteridium Gled. ex Scop., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 5.