Bracken, Pteridium esculentum, is one of the oldest and most successful ferns, with fossils over 55 million years old. The word Bracken is of Old Norse origin, related to the Swedish word bräken, meaning fern. The plant sends up large, triangular fronds from a wide-creeping underground rootstock, and may form dense thickets. This rootstock may travel a metre or more underground between fronds.

Bracken fiddleheads (the tightly curled young fronds) are edible but must be cooked. In its raw from Bracken is carcinogenic, as it damages blood cells and destroys thiamine (Vitamin B1), with resulting vitamin B deficiency. Compounds from Bracken can leach into water supplies, causing an increase in the incidence of gastric and oesophageal cancers.

Bracken fiddleheads or rhizomes are prepared by roasting in hot ashes, then either eaten fresh or preserved by salting, pickling, or sun drying.

Bracken sap can be used for stings of a bull ant or a stinging nettle.

Bracken is found in all Australian states but not in the Northern Territory. In New South Wales it occurs all along the coast, tablelands, slopes and to the south-western plains. The fern grows in open forest and regenerates quickly after burning or other disturbance. The roots and rhizomes of this plant hold the soil, while spreading fronds create a shady environment that promotes growth of seedlings. Bracken can be found at Manna Park in open clearings and as understorey on gully slopes.

Click on either picture to download a higher resolution image (T.Hastings, September 2009).