bracken

/ˈbrækən/

Other forms: brackens

Bracken is a weedy type of fern that's native to the Southern Hemisphere. If you visit Australia, you'll almost certainly see some bracken, which grows in every state of the country.

While bracken, also known as the bracken fern, originally comes from New Zealand and Australia, it can be found all around the world today. In fact, bracken is considered an invasive species in most countries, leaving only deserts and extremely cold regions unaffected by its spread. Bracken is coarse and weedy, and while its roots are commonly eaten by Maori in New Zealand, the leaves have been found to cause cancer.

Definitions of bracken

1. noun

   large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan
   synonyms: Pteridium aquilinum, brake, pasture brake

   type of:

   fern

   any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
2. noun

   fern of southeastern Asia; not hardy in cold temperate regions
   synonyms: Pteridium esculentum

   type of:

   fern

   any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores