Bracken

Pteridium aquilinum

• Bracken are non-flowering plants, reproducing via spores.
• They are often confused with ferns, the simple way to tell them apart is that bracken has a stem, and will come up singly. Whereas ferns generally don’t have a stem ( there are lots of different types) but they always have multiple fronds coming up from one central point.
• The fronds die back in autumn, creating a rusty orange colour on many a hillside.
• Bracken is a very useful plant for bushcraft. It is helpful in shelter building, and also in the winter fronds that die back make a functional tinder bundle.
• The spores given off by Bracken in late summer, around August time, are carcinogenic, so it shouldn’t be used at this time. You can see the spores forming on the underside of the fronds.
• Our logo includes the unfurling crozier of a bracken or fern frond.