Pteridium aquilinum

Pteridium aquilinum, is a vigorous, cold hardy, rhizomatous fern known as common bracken or bracken fern. It is the fifth most widespread plant in the world occurring on every continent except Antarctica thanks to its super light, easily-dispersed spores. In the spring, fiddleheads present as vertical stalks coiled and covered in silver-gray hairs several feet high before unfurling into coarsely divided, triangular fronds 3-4 feet high. Fiddleheads and rhizomes, though long-consumed by humans of various cultures, are toxic and carcinogenic. In the wild, dense colonies can be common due to its deep and creeping root stock. It is easily grown in average, consistently moist soils especially in sandy to peaty, acidic, infertile soils. With its aggressive tendencies, this is not usually a fern for the garden unless you are a native plant lover or have a confined space to contain its vigour. it is a larval host for moths and other insect species. Photo: Wikipedia.