Common Name: brackenfern
Scientific Name: Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn
Family Name: Polypodiaceae – Fern Family

Identification Notes:

life cycle – 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 growth habit, leaf stalks

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 completely covered by inrolled leaf margins leaves

Images:

Click to enlarge		Click to enlarge		Click to enlarge

Return to weed index sorted by: Common Name | Scientific Name | Family Name