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Bracken Fern

Pteridium esculentum · Dennstaedtiaceae · all Pteridium records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: No test or rating condition is normalized.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 1 source placement record; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Global; New Zealand; Tasmania, Australia
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: No state distribution is normalized.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: No introduced or established row is normalized; that does not prove native status.
USDA hardiness: No hardiness value is normalized.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: Set a location for an exact legal-list result; source silence is not clearance.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: No ecological invasive report is normalized; that does not prove noninvasiveness.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Bracken Fern (Pteridium esculentum) — Photo: (c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: perennial
Region: Australia; New Zealand; Tasmania, Australia
Rated in: Global; New Zealand; Tasmania, Australia
Family: Dennstaedtiaceae
Evidence: 20 cited sources

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Fire Resisting Garden Plants for the Urban Fringe and Rur…: should be avoided in the Building Protection Zone [Texas Building Protection Zone] (mid-scale rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (1)

Low Flammability Plants directory — Fire and Emergency New Zealand (plant flammability testing at Lincoln University) · 2026 · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: lincoln-nz-tree

“High flammability”

High flammability classification. Flagged poisonous in the FENZ directory.

Mid-scale / conditional (2)

Fire Resisting Garden Plants for the Urban Fringe and Rural Areas — Tasmania Fire Service (Chladil & Sheridan; photographs Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens) · 2017 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: utas-tree

“Moderate Flammability”
A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species — International Journal of Wildland Fire (Wyse, Perry, O'Connell, Holland, Wright, Hosted, Whitelock, Geary, Maurin, Curran) · 2016 · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: lincoln-nz-tree

“Moderate/high flammability category (Fig. 2)”

Shoot category from the paper's cluster analysis; samples were air-dried for 24 hours before testing.

Listed without a rating (17)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

17 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “ignition frequency (%): 100” · score 100 (FLAMITS — ignition frequency (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 1489; Ignitability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “maximum sample temperature (°C): 507.7” · score 507.7 (FLAMITS — maximum sample temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 1683; Combustibility measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “burning duration (s): 24.9” · score 24.9 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1877; Sustainability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “estimated burnt biomass (%): 28.6” · score 28.6 (FLAMITS — estimated burnt biomass (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 2071; Consumability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4568.35” · score 4568.35 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 2903; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel dead; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Dickinson1985-1; sampling winter. Primary study Dickinson1985: Dickinson, K. J. M., & Kirkpatrick, J. B. (1985). The flammability and energy content of some important plant-species and fuel components in the forests of Southeastern Tasmania. Journal of Biogeography, 12, 121-134.
- “rate of burning spread (cm/s): 0.25” · score 0.25 (FLAMITS — rate of burning spread (cm/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 2915; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel dead; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Dickinson1985-1; sampling winter. Primary study Dickinson1985: Dickinson, K. J. M., & Kirkpatrick, J. B. (1985). The flammability and energy content of some important plant-species and fuel components in the forests of Southeastern Tasmania. Journal of Biogeography, 12, 121-134.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4646.74” · score 4646.74 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 2936; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Dickinson1985-1; sampling winter. Primary study Dickinson1985: Dickinson, K. J. M., & Kirkpatrick, J. B. (1985). The flammability and energy content of some important plant-species and fuel components in the forests of Southeastern Tasmania. Journal of Biogeography, 12, 121-134.
- “temperature at smoke (°C): 156.96” · score 156.96 (FLAMITS — temperature at smoke (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 8506; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “temperature at smoke (°C): 269.4” · score 269.4 (FLAMITS — temperature at smoke (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 8507; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “temperature at flaming (°C): 236.52” · score 236.52 (FLAMITS — temperature at flaming (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 8721; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “temperature at flaming (°C): 371.2” · score 371.2 (FLAMITS — temperature at flaming (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 8722; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 24.47” · score 24.47 (FLAMITS — temperature increase rate (°C/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 8936; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 14.69” · score 14.69 (FLAMITS — temperature increase rate (°C/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 8937; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-13; sampling summer. Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
- “ignition frequency (%): 100” · score 100 (FLAMITS — ignition frequency (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 14373; Ignitability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-3; sampling ND. Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
- “maximum sample temperature (°C): 469.6” · score 469.6 (FLAMITS — maximum sample temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 14433; Combustibility measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-3; sampling ND. Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
- “burning duration (s): 18.1” · score 18.1 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14493; Sustainability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-3; sampling ND. Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
- “estimated burnt biomass (%): 13.8” · score 13.8 (FLAMITS — estimated burnt biomass (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 14553; Consumability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-3; sampling ND. Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.

Fire-resistant perennials instead

Cavendish banana
Musa acuminata

Columbine
Aquilegia

Tickseed
Coreopsis

Lamb’s ear
Stachys byzantina

Sea thrift
Armeria maritima

Candytuft
Iberis sempervirens

Fire-resistant perennials listed above

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata ·

Pteridium esculentum (Bracken Fern). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/pteridium-esculentum/. Last verified 2026-08-23.