Bracken Fern

Pteridium aquilinum var. caudatum

Bracken Fern is a fast spreading fern averaging three feet tall, yet to 20 feet when climbing up nearby trees and shrubs. It grows in dry pinelands, back dunes and hammocks spreading by underground rhizomes many feet from where planted.

After a fire in natural areas containing this plant, it is one of the first to send up new growth. This is one of the best plants for large areas in need of a groundcover. If you have pinelands, a canal bank, roadside swale, or any other large, dry area of the yard in need of a permanent cover, this will do the job.

Planted six to 10 feet apart, bracken fern will grow together within the year. Break things up with Saw Palmetto, Beauty Berry, Myrsine, Wild Coffee, Marlberry and other dense shrubs that can compete for space.

If the fronds become too old and ugly, just mow; new fiddleheads will appear in a few days. This is excellent cover for wildlife but not an abundant source of food for them. But for humans, Bracken Fern is said to be edible if the very young fiddle heads are boiled in plenty of water first. Click for more info, and here. Do not plant where horses or livestock can eat it as the older leaves are poisonous to them.

Here are some great images, click here.