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BRACKEN FERN
Pteridium aquilinum / POLYPODIACEAE
Fern family
Other Common Names: Western Brake-fern,
Eagle Fern, Pasture-brake, Fiddlehead (in early stage).
Description:
Large, coarse, triangular shaped, light green fronds (Ieaflike organ of
a fern) are 3-forked and up to 1 meter in length; mature plant stalk is
straw-colored and polished; spreads from creeping root-stalks; hair
shoots uncurl in spring resembling fiddleheads; mature plant can exceed
1.5 meters tall; mature spores on the frond undersurface have a velvety
brown appearance. The underground stems or rhizomes are deep, giving it
the ability to survive intense fires.
 Location: Common west of the Rocky Mountains, less so east -
found in medium to low altitudes in fields, burns, moist coniferous
forests, and rocky canyons. Southern bracken is found in most of the
eastern United States between Florida and Oklahoma in the south, to
Missouri, Illinois, and Massachusetts in the north. Eastern bracken is
found between Oklahoma and North Carolina in the south, to Minnesota,
Quebec, and Newfoundland in the north.
Season:
Appears in early spring as fiddlehead shaped shoots. Edible: Young
shoots in spring,
roots
in autumn.Preparation: Snap
off young shoots about 15 centimeters from the curled fiddlehead,
discarding the head itself. Peel the remaining shoot and eat raw, cooked
(boiled in salted water), or steamed. Autumn rootstalks are edible after
removing outer covering and roasting.
Notes
of Interest:
Consuming quantities of raw shoots can create a vitamin B1 deficiency,
causing a reduction in body thiamine. Cooking eliminates this potential.
Bracken fern leaves are known to be poisonous to livestock when eaten in
large amounts. The toxic ingredient is an enzyme that destroys the
animals' thiamin reserves.Acute poisoning
from these ferns is unlikely; their effect is cumulative, and eventually
produces a variety of internal cancers. Repeated ingestions
significantly increase the likelihood of developing disease; in Japan,
where BRACKEN FERN FIDDLEHEADS are traditionally consumed as
food, scientists attribute the high incidence of stomach cancer
to the popularity of this risky vegetable. |
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