Eastern Bracken Fern

Eastern Bracken Fern

Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum

Synonyms

Allosorus aquilinus, Asplenium aquilinum, Bracken, Bracken Fern, Brake, Brake fern, Eagle Fern, Filix aquilina, Filix-foemina aquilina, Hog-brake, Ornithopteris aquilina, Pteridium aquilinum var. lanuginosum, Pteridium aquilinum var. champlainese, Pteris aquilina, Pteris latiuscula

ID Characteristics

Life cycle: Perennial
Growth Habit: Can grow upright or on stalks with the fronds forming a flat canopy or thicket
Propagation: Spores, rhizomes
Leaf Margin: Fronds are entire; leaflet margins can curl under
Leaf Hairs: None
Leaf Structure: Fronds are divided into threes; leaflets can be irregular
Leaf Arrangement: Fronds grow from a central base
Root Type: Wide creeping rhizomes
Flower Color: No flowers but ferns have sori on the undersides of the fronds produce spores.

Multimedia

Similar Species

  • Fern, Oak Gymnocarpium dryopteris
  • Fern, Rattlesnake Botrypus virginianus
  • Fern, Robert's Gymnocarpium robertianum

Herbicidal Control Options

  • Preemergence: Selective control option not available
  • Post Emergence: 2,4-D, Dicamba, MCPP, Triclopyr, Clopyralid

Please note: one or more of these active ingredients may exist in combination-type brand name products. Any material used for herbicidal control of any plant may vary in efficacy. Please read the full disclaimer on herbicide usage.