Bracken Fern

Pteridium aquilinum

General:  Fronds large, solitary, erect, deciduous, to 3 (sometimes 5) m tall; rhizomes spreading, much branched below ground surface, clothed with numberous hairs.

Leaves: Blades triangular, 2-3 times pinnate, hairy, stipes stout, straw-coloured to greenish, longer than the blades; leaflets 10 or more pairs, mostly opposite, the lowest pair narrowly to broadly triangular, upper ones progressively reduced and lance-shaped; ultimate segments round toothed, margins rolled under.

Sori: Marginal, continuous, covered by rolled leaf margin; indusium not evident.

Ecology: Meadows, roadsides, clearings, sterile sandy soils, burns, avalanche tracks, dry to wet forests, acid sites such as lake-shores and bogs; often weedy; at low to subalpine elevations.

Notes:  This cosmopolitan species is the world's most widespread fern.

Source: Pojar's Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, 1994