Pteridium aquilinum

Common Name: 
bracken fern
Scientific Name: 
Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn
Family Name: 
Polypodiaceae - Fern Family
Identification Notes
Life Cycle
native perennial, reproducing by spores and brown-black, scaly rhizomes
Stems
leaf stalk (not true stem) arise from rhizomes, upright, smooth, red to maroon or green, grooved, green becoming brown late season
Stems of Brackenfern
Stems of Brackenfern
Leaves
fronds divided into 3 parts (one terminal, two opposite), triangular, held nearly horizontally, dark green, course, each of 3 parts bipinnately subdivided, spore-producing structures formed along the underside edge of leaflets, spores partially or complet
Leaves of Brackenfern