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Bracken Fern
Photo by Allen Philips 8-22-2007 amd 5-12-2002
Bracken fern Pteridium aquilium
The Bracken fern is common to Bainbridge and the Native Tree Garden. This is a circumboral fern, possibly the most common fern in the world. It is deciduous, with the fiddle head growing quickly upwards in the spring, then leaves and branches spreading out. It will grow to 8 feet tall when in light brush to gain light above the other plants. It does well in the Northwest summer drought, roots like runners about 12" below grade, unlike the other local ferns that grow from clumps. It needs more sun than our other Puget Sound ferns.
This fern is often eaten but also has been indicated as a strong cause of colonic cancer in Japan.
updated 9/2007 by Allen Philips