Pteridium esculentum

Pteridium esculentum
Bracken at Chatswood West, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
Genus: Pteridium
Species:
P. esculentum
Binomial name
Pteridium esculentum

Pteridium esculentum, commonly known as bracken fern, Austral bracken or simply bracken, is a species of the bracken genus native to a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Although it is now known to contain the carcinogen ptaquiloside, the rhizome of the plant was a staple in traditional Māori diets in New Zealand and was eaten by Indigenous Australians.