Bracken Fern (genus Pteridium) Toxicity a Global Problem

摘要

Bracken fern (genus Pteridium), a plant of ancient lineage, is as widespread as any plant on our planet. Its distribution is restricted only by the extremes of temperature and moisture. In some areas bracken is aggressively encroaching on to farmland.Such factors as the nature of land tenure, the size of land holdings, subdivision and changing farm economies contribute to a lack of grazing pressure and the spread of bracken. Livestock readily consume bracken. Man also consumes bracken or its toxinseither directly, as in the case of the croziers or the rhizomes, or indirectly through the consumption of milk or meat from animals grazing on bracken fern.