''Pteridium esculentum'', commonly known as bracken fern, Austral bracken or simply

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

, is a species of the

genus native to a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. ''Esculentum'' means edible. First described as ''Pteris esculenta'' by German botanist

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

in 1786, it gained its current binomial name in 1908. The rhizome of the plant was a staple in traditional

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

diets in New Zealand and was eaten by Indigenous Australians, it is now known to contain the carcinogen ptaquiloside.

Morphology

''Pteridium esculentum'' grows from creeping

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s, which are covered with reddish hair. From them arise single large roughly triangular

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s, which grow to tall. The fronds are stiff with a brown stripe.

Distribution

It is found in all states of Australia apart from the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, as well as

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

, and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. Within

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

it is widespread and common to altitudes of . In

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, it occurs across central, eastern and southern parts of the state. It can also be weedy and invade disturbed areas. In

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, it grows near the southern and western coastlines, as far north as

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

Ecology

Like its northern hemisphere relatives, ''Pteridium esculentum'' is very quick to colonise disturbed areas and can outcompete other plants to form a dense understorey. It is often treated as a weed. It does create a more humid sheltered microclimate under its leaves and is food for a variety of native insects. Two species of fruit fly (''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...

'') were recorded in a field study near Sydney. Another study near Sydney yielded 17 herbivorous arthropods (15

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and two

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

s), notable for the lack of

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

(ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) and

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

Uses in Māori culture

The

of New Zealand used the

s of ''Pteridium esculentum'' (') as a staple food, especially for exploring or hunting groups away from permanent settlements; much of the widespread distribution of this species in present-day New Zealand is in fact a consequence of prehistoric deforestation and subsequent tending of ' stands on rich soils (which produced the best rhizomes). ', alongside

kūmara The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...

(sweet potato), was often the primary carbohydrate in traditional Māori diets, especially in southern New Zealand, where traditional Pacific crops were not able to be grown in the temperate climate. The plant was associated with communing with

atua Atua are the gods and spirits of the Polynesian people such as the Māori or the Hawaiians (see also ). The literal meaning of the Polynesian word is "power" or "strength" and so the concept is similar to that of '' mana''. Many of the atua ...

(gods), especially

Haumia-tiketike Haumia-tiketike (or simply Haumia) is the god of all uncultivated vegetative food in Māori mythology. He is particularly associated with the starchy rhizome of the '' Pteridium esculentum'', which became a major element of the Māori diet in fo ...

, the god of uncultivated plants, and was often associated with war, as the plant could be transported easily by warriors. The plant is very important in traditional Māori life that many names are given for its many forms: ' alone refers to the rhizome, ' its roasted product, ' for fronts, and new shoots are known by the name '; the entire plant is known as ', ' and '. The name ' is used in other

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austr ...

to refer to species of fern. The rhizomes were air-dried so that they could be stored and became lighter; for consumption, they were briefly heated and then softened with a pounder ('); the starch could then be sucked from the fibers by each diner, or collected if it were to be prepared for a larger feast. ' were significant items and several distinct styles were developed. ' could be roasted then eaten plain, mashed into a porridge with harakeke nectar, or cooked alongside meats and seafood.

Uses in Indigenous Australian culture

The

Eora The Eora (; also ''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as ...

people of the Sydney region knew it as '. Indigenous people in Australia ate the roots after they were pounded into a paste and roasted.

Health impacts

''Pteridium esculentum'' contains the known bracken carcinogen ptaquiloside. Concentrations of ptaquiloside in bracken in New Zealand vary greatly, and in a high proportion of stands ptaquiloside is not found. A higher incidence of ptaquiloside, and some very high concentrations, are found in areas wher
bovine enzootic haematuria
and/or acute haemorrhagic syndrome was known to occur.LH Rasmussen, DR Lauren, BL Smith & HCB Hansen, "Variation in ptaquiloside content in bracken (Pteridium esculentum (Forst. f) Cockayne) in New Zealand" New Zealand Veterinary Journal Volume 56, Issue 6, 2008 Traditional Māori cooking techniques may have lessened the content of ptaquiloside. ''Pteridium esculentum'' contains

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

structures, which over time can grind down teeth, something seen in many Māori archaeological sites. The plant is also known to cause

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3410261 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Western Australia Flora of Tasmania Ferns of New Zealand Plants described in 1786 Dennstaedtiaceae