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Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Bracken Fern - Pteridium aquilinum

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4
C-value: 3


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

 
General Description
Perennials with vigorously spreading, scaleless rhizomes. Leaves monomorphic, scattered, 30–150 cm long, petiole ca. same length as the blade. Leaf blade 3 times pinnate, the first division usually ternate. Pinnae 20–50 cm long. Subpinnae alternate on the rachis, narrowly lance-shaped. Pinnules linear, broadened at the base, upper surface glabrous but hairy below. Fertile pinnules with recurved margins partly covering continuous series of sori (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
Cosmopolitan (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 638

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Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Moist to wet forest, woodlands and meadows, thickets within forested landscapes, often with Thuja plicata or along streams; montane to occasionally subalpine (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Bracken Fern"
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Citation for data on this website:
Bracken Fern — Pteridium aquilinum.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from