page_title: Bracken
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Bracken / Uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Dried Eastern brakenfern 한국어: 마른 고사리
context_page_description: Bracken is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells. Brackens are noted for their large, highly divided leaves. They are found on all continents except Antarctica and in all environments except deserts, though their typical habitat is moorland. The genus probably has the widest distribution of any fern in the world.
  The word bracken is of Old Norse origin, related to Swedish bräken and Danish bregne, both meaning fern.
  In the past, the genus was commonly treated as having only one species, Pteridium aquilinum, but the recent trend is to subdivide it into about ten species.
  Like other ferns, brackens do not have seeds or fruits, but the immature fronds, known as fiddleheads, are sometimes eaten, although some are thought to be carcinogenic.
caption: Dried bracken bundles (P. aquilinum) at a food market in South Korea
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