Common Name: Bracken
Latin Name: Pteridium aquilinum
Family: Dennstaediaceae (Bracken family)
Bracken is a long lived native fern with extremely extensive rhizomes (underground stems). It can colonise new areas quickly and can be very difficult to manage once in an area. Their leaves or fronds, which have a distinctive smell when crushed, are tightly coiled in spirals when young in Spring and then unravel as they grow. In Autumn bracken turns a rusty orange colour as the fronds die back.
Bracken has many uses around the world but it can also be poisonous. The fronds have been used as a material for thatching roofs and paper making, but are toxic to stock if eaten causing symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency. The toxins leaching from the fronds into the soil also inhibit the germination of some other plant species which makes it easier for the bracken to colonise new areas and out compete other species. Parts of the plant are the source of green, dark yellow and black dyes for textiles. The rhizome has been used in glass and soap making and in the preparation of chamois leathers. The rhizomes and young fronds were formerly eaten in Japan and by Maoris in New Zealand but they are now thought to be a possible cause of cancer.
In the Yorkshire Dales National Park bracken is common on acidic soils and sometimes where limestone is overlain by peat or glacial drift. In particular it can be found in woodland and moorland fringe habitats. Bracken may lead to the loss of more important habitats due to the dense shade cast and the increased acidity caused by the decaying fronds. Therefore, bracken management is encouraged where appropriate, as set out in the Bracken Habitat Statement.
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