Pteridium aquilinum - Eastern bracken

Pteridium aquilinum, commonly called Eastern bracken, is a type of fern. It is toxic if not properly prepared, but young shoots can be eaten after thorough cooking.

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 4¹
• Hardiness zone 5¹
• Hardiness zone 6¹
• Hardiness zone 7¹

Outputs

• Human food¹
• Medicinal use¹

Type

• Perennial¹

Functions

• Phosphorus accumulator²
• Potassium accumulator²
• Manganese accumulator²
• Iron accumulator²
• Copper accumulator²
• Zinc accumulator²
• Fire resistance³

Footnotes

1. Pteridium aquilinum | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Gaia’s Garden - A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition Table 6-2 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Leaf burn times of California native plants, Las Pilitas Nursery, 2005 propane-torch ignition trial, live-leaf ignition time >60 seconds ↩