The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

BRACKEN

Bracken (Pteris aquilina) or common brake or fern is a common British and almost world-wide fern found growing on heathland. Its stem is a wide- spreading underground structure, covered with fine brown hairs and giving off roots in all directions; this stem sends up each year a single leaf or frond which may vary in height from 15 centimetres to four meters according to the growing conditions. The spore cases occur in lines along the margin of the pinnae, thus distinguishing the bracken from other British ferns. Formerly the stem was eaten and the fronds used for thatching and bedding cattle.
Research Bracken