Bracken
Pteridium latiusculum
The 1½-3’ smooth, green stalk divides into 3 nearly horizontal branches, giving the fern a triangular shape. Each branch gives off alternate leaflets that are cut into oblong, round-tipped sub-leaflets. Toward the ends of the primary branches the leaflets are less cut or not cut at all. The stem turns brown late in the year. The spore-cases are in a continuous line around the somewhat rolled margins of the sub-leaflets. Grows in shade or sun, often in poor soil and sometimes in large colonies.