Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Bracken fern is one of the most widespread plants on Earth, found on every continent except Antarctica. Its fronds unfurl from underground rhizomes each spring and can reach over a metre tall, releasing toxic compounds that make it one of the few plants poisonous to livestock.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
Genus: Pteridium
Species: Pteridium aquilinum