Where does bracken fern grow? Introduction to its growing environment and conditions

Bracken fern, also known as fist vegetable, cat's claw, dragon-head vegetable and so on, is a perennial deciduous herbaceous plant in the Pteridaceae family. Its edible part is the unexpanded young leaf bud. It prefers to grow in sunny plots in low mountain areas, and is widely distributed in mainland China and Southeast Asia, where it is also welcomed at the dining table. Now let us take a look at where bracken fern grows!

Where does bracken fern grow?

Bracken fern prefers to grow in sunny plots in low mountain areas, and is mostly distributed in sparse coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests. Its edible part is the unexpanded young leaf bud and the relatively tender stem of the upper half. The stem is thick and plump, and the leaf stalk is stiff and upright, often reaching about 60 cm tall. In spring, when the young leaves have just emerged and are still curled and unexpanded, people pick them to prepare for eating. It is widely distributed in mainland China and Southeast Asia, where it is also welcomed at the dining table.

Where are the production areas of bracken fern distributed?

1. Hebei: Chengde bracken fern is a famous wild vegetable in Hebei Province. The Chengde area covers more than 33,000 hectares, distributed in Longhua, Fengning, Pingquan, Kuancheng and other places.

2. Liaoning: Bracken fern is distributed in the mountainous areas of Liaoning Province, especially in the eastern mountainous areas where it is widely distributed and abundant. It is exported to Japan and other countries, and is also very popular in the domestic market.

3. Inner Mongolia: Bracken fern is distributed throughout Inner Mongolia, but the main production areas are in Chifeng City, Hinggan League and other places, with an annual output of about 200 tons. The local picking period is in June.

4. Jilin: Bracken fern is distributed in the mountainous areas of Jilin Province, with a large output. It begins to appear on the market around May each year, mainly exported to South Korea, and domestic sales are also very good.

5. Heilongjiang: Bracken fern is distributed in high mountain areas at an altitude of 200-800 m, mostly growing mixed with weeds. It emerges in mid-May and is harvested from late May to early June.

6. Guizhou: Bracken fern is very widely distributed. In fact, ferns are most widely distributed and most diverse in Guizhou, and the local picking period for bracken fern is from mid-March to August.

7. Hunan: Bracken fern can be found on the mountains of Xiangyin, Miluo, Zhangguying and other places. Spring is the picking period for bracken fern. After about June, the bracken has matured and grown too large to eat.

8. Ningxia: Bracken fern is more abundant in Guyuan and Yuzhong County of Gansu and other places, and the quality of bracken fern in Zhang County is especially higher. It is also abundant in Taihe Mountain and Hasi Mountain in Jingyuan County.

What common species of bracken fern are there?

1. Pteridium revolutum: Pteridium revolutum is a special species, tall in form with broad fronds, bearing extremely numerous long-linear sessile pinnules spreading at right angles from the rachis, which makes it stand out prominently among the various species of this genus. This species is somewhat close to Pteridium aquilinum and its Asian variety, but the pinnules are up to 20 cm long, long-linear, spreading at right angles, and the ultimate segments are also relatively long, linear-lanceolate, with pointed tips and more or less crenate margins on both sides.

2. Pteridium esculentum: The plant of Pteridium esculentum is about 1 m tall, with a long creeping rhizome. The fronds are distant, the blade oblong-triangular, the apex acuminate, the base broadly cuneate, tripinnate, alternate, stalked, slightly ascending obliquely, oblong-lanceolate, the apex long-acuminate, with a short tail-like tip, the base nearly truncate or cordate, the basal pair not shortened. It is distributed in southwestern Guangxi, Hainan, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and other places.

3. Pteridium aquilinum: The plant of Pteridium aquilinum can reach 1 m tall. The leaves are divided into many lobes and grow on smooth black stems. After the plant grows up, the stem becomes very hard, and the young buds are edible. It is produced throughout the country, but mainly in the Yangtze River basin and areas to the north, and is also distributed in subtropical regions. It grows on sunny mountain slopes and in sunny places at forest edges, at an altitude of 200-830 m, and is also widely distributed in other tropical and temperate regions of the world.

4. Pteridium falcatum: The plant of Pteridium falcatum is up to 2 m tall, with a creeping rhizome. The fronds are papery when dry, dark green, hairless above, and sparsely covered with light gray-brown pubescence along the main veins beneath. The veins are dense, obliquely ascending, visible above and obvious beneath. The rachis and pinna rachis are both smooth, the pinnule rachis nearly smooth, all with 1 deep longitudinal groove above, hairless within the groove, straw-colored. Its form is close to Pteridium aquilinum. It is endemic to eastern Guangxi (Hewan County), growing in sunny places on mountain slopes.

5. Pteridium revolutum var.: The plant of this bracken is more than 1 m tall, with a creeping rhizome. The fronds are distant, straw-colored or brownish straw-colored, and the blade is broadly triangular or ovate-triangular. It grows mostly in the provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River, and is produced in Taiwan, China, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Xizang. It grows in sunny places on mountain slopes or in forest clearings in sparse valley forests. In the Yibin area of Sichuan, it is called "rice fern".

6. Pteridium yunnanense: The plant of Pteridium yunnanense is about 1 m tall. The petiole is thick and sturdy, light straw-colored in the upper part, hairless. The blade is ovate-triangular, quadripinnatifid. The basal pinnae are the largest, oblong-triangular, the apex acuminate, the base broadly cuneate, opposite, spreading obliquely, with long stalks, about 28 cm from the pair above. It is tripinnatifid, with about 20 pairs of primary pinnules, opposite or subopposite, spreading flatly or obliquely. It is endemic to western Yunnan (Yingjiang), at an altitude of 1450 m.