Pteridium

Contains 3 accepted taxa overall.

Characteristics
Pteridium Gled. ex Scop.
DENNSTAEDTIACEAE
BRACKEN FERN
View USF Herbarium specimens of this family
Though sometimes eaten, bracken fern contains ptaquiloside, a carcinogenic terpene glycoside (Hirono et al. 1984) that can damage DNA (Tourchi-Roudsari 2014) and increase the risk of gastrointestinal tract cancers (Nagaraja & Eslick 2015). Ptaquiloside can be present in animal milk (Virgilio et al. 2015).
Classification
POLYPODIALES
Pteridium
Citation
PTERIDIUM Gleditsch ex Scopoli, Fl. Carniol. 169. 1760, nom. cons.
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TYPE: Pteridium aquilinum (Linnaeus) Kuhn (Pteris aquilina Linnaeus)
Species
Scientific Name Common Name Herbarium Specimens Status Photos
Pteridium aquilinum var. caudatum LACY BRACKEN Native FACU (NWPL)
Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum EASTERN BRACKEN Native FACU (NWPL)
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum TAILED BRACKEN Native FACU (NWPL)
[Family identification key]
1.  Plants to ca. 2.5 m tall; ultimate leaf segments mostly 5-24 times longer than wide, 1-4(-6.5) mm wide, often appearing widely spaced;
P. aquilinum var. caudatum
1.  Plants to ca. 1 m tall; ultimate leaf segments mostly 2-8.5 times longer than wide, mostly 3-8 mm wide, mostly appearing closely spaced
2
2.  Leaf segment margins sparsely to densely pubescent
P. aquilinum var. latiusculum
2.  Leaf segment margins glabrous, rarely sparsely pilose
P. aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
Genus Synonyms
Synonym Full Citation Basionym Type
Cincinalis Cincinalis Gleditsch, Syst. Pl. 290. 1764. TYPE: = Pteridium Gleditsch ex Scopoli 1760.
Eupteris Eupteris Newman, Phytologist 2: 278. 1845. TYPE: Eupteris aquilina (Linnaeus) Newman (Pteris aquilina Linnaeus) = Pteridium Gleditsch ex Scopoli 1760.
Filix Filix Ludwig, Inst. Regn. Veg., ed. 2. 142. 1757, non Seguier 1754. TYPE: Filix aquilina (Linnaeus) Woynar (Pteris aquilina Linnaeus) = Pteridium Gleditsch ex Scopoli 1760.
Filix-foemina Filix-foemina Hill ex Farwell, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 12: 290. 1931. TYPE: Filix-foemina aquilina (Linnaeus) Farwell (Pteris aquilina Linnaeus) = Pteridium Gleditsch ex Scopoli 1760.
Ornithopteris Ornithopteris (J. Agardh) J. Smith, Hist. Filicum 297. 1875, non Bernhardi 1805. BASIONYM: Pteris Linnaeus, sect. Ornithopteris J. Agardh, Recens. Sp. Gen. Pteridis 45. 1839. TYPE: Ornithopteris aquilina (Linnaeus) J. Smith (Pteris aquilina Linnaeus) = Pteridium Gleditsch ex Scopoli 1760.