Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens

Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
Genus: Pteridium
Species:
Variety:
P. a. var. pubescens
Trinomial name
Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens
Underw.

Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens, the hairy brackenfern, is a variety of bracken fern ranging from Alaska to Mexico.[1][2][3]

Habitat

This fern grows across the Pacific Northwest and is incredibly common across its range in meadows, pastures, woodlands and hillsides.[1][2]

Other names

This species is also known as western bracken.[4]

Identification

This species can be identified by its small hairs on its stems and leaves, new growth, hirsute spores, and a lack of scales on the fronds.[5]

Notes

This plant is a variety of Pteridium aquilinum, a predominately European species.

Host Associations

Macrosiphum rhamni uses this subspecies of fern as its dominant host plant.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Calscape. "Hairy Brackenfern". calscape.org. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  2. ^ a b "Hairy brackenfern (Variety Pteridium aquilinum pubescens)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  3. ^ "Pteridium pubescens (Underw.) Christenh. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  4. ^ "Hairy bracken | fern | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  5. ^ "Pteridium in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  6. ^ "Macrosiphum rhamni (Buckthorn-fern aphid) identification, images, ecology, control". influentialpoints.com. Retrieved 2025-12-17.