New Zealand bracken (Pteridium esculentum) belongs to a group of closely related fern species of near global extent. Pteridium species worldwide are aggressive, highly productive, seral plants, functionally more akin to shrubs than ferns. Their deeply buried starch-rich rhizomes allow them to survive repeated fire and their efficient nutrient uptake permits exploitation of a wide range of soils...

fractions of bracken fern-fed cattle and of cows bearing spontaneous urinary bladder tumors contained some carcinogenic substance(s) which induced tumors in the bladder of the calf, dog, rat, or mouse and tumors in the skin of mice. It is not known whether this carcinogenic activity is attributable to bracken fern itself or to its metabolites. It has been shown (22) that the carcinogenicity of ...

The bladder cancer syndrome that often accompanies chronic enzootic hematuria in cattle grazing on pastures infested by bracken fern has been experimentally reproduced in animals fed a diet of bracken. The experimentally induced tumors were histologically and pathologically indistinguishable from the naturally occurring ones and comprised two main types: (a) carcinoma of the urothelium identica...

Bracken fern is one of the major invasive plants distributed all over the world currently threatening socio-economic and ecological systems due to its ability to swiftly colonize landscapes. The study aimed at reviewing the progress and challenges in detecting and mapping bracken fern weeds using multispectral remotely sensed data. Evidence from literature have revealed that traditional methods...