Give this fern a brake
By Chelsie Vandaveer
January 17, 2003
Series: | 1 | | 2 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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In old herbals, bracken was called Filix foemina or female fern. Linnaeus named it Pteris aquilina (eagle fern) for the pattern of the vessels in an oblique cross-section of the lower rachis. Though some thought the pattern appeared like an eagle with wings spread; others thought the pattern resembled the Greek chi, the initial of Christ, and provided protection
from evil.
Maximilian Friedrich Adalbert Kuhn moved bracken to Pteridium in the late 1800s, changing aquilina to aquilinum to maintain Latin rules. Botanically, the fern is known as Pteridium aquilinum (Linnaeus) Kuhn.
Bracken comes from the Middle English braken or brakan. The name is related to several words from Scandinavia; in Swedish the fern was called bräken, in Danish, bregne, and in Icelandic, burkni. The names referred to any large fern.
According to the 1889 Century Unabridged Dictionary, another Middle English name for bracken was brake, derived from the Anglo-Saxon bracce meaning fern. The name is thought related to (or confused with) the Middle Low German brake, a thicket of willow or bushes found on rough and broken ground. Brake (the fern) was found in brakelands, land left fallow and reverting to brush.
In Florida, a folkloric name among citrus grove workers is rattlesnake fern*, since many believe it to attract the snakes. Bracken frequently invades the fallow borders around citrus groves and crop fields. Rattlers and other snakes are attracted to the rodents which are attracted to citrus fruit. When grove workers come upon hunting snakes, the reptiles head for the brushy cover. It appears easier to blame the presence of snakes on a fern than to blame the fruit for the presence of rats and hence, snakes.
*Rattlesnake fern properly refers to Botrychium virginianum (Linnaeus) Swartz. It does not attract snakes either.
Erik Gotfredsen has posted a herbarium illustration of Pteridium aquilinum on Liber Herbarum II. The drawing shows a cross-section of the stipe which gave the fern its name. To view the drawing, click on the link:
http://www.liberherbarum.com/Pn0427nf.htm
Series: | 1 | | 2 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Give this fern a brake What's in a Name? - January 17, 2003
How does bracken compete? Weird Plants - January 16, 2003
What plant saw the rise and fall of the dinosaurs? Weird Plants - July 26, 2001
Mistletoe Cacti (Rhipsalis Gaertner) Plant of the Week - February 14, 2005
Mother-of-thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) Plant of the Week - March 24, 2003
Killer Savings Links: Breck's Bulbs -$25 off—>Click here.
Gurney's Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Henry Fields Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Spring Hill Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Gardens Alive! -$20 off—>Click here.
Michigan Bulb -$20 off—>Click here.
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