Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CLXXIV · Topic 26: Ferns, horsetails and mosses
174. The bracken
Goal: Your child explains what “pinnate” means using a bracken frond, finds where its spores hide under the folded edges, and looks for the picture in its cut stem.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A small knife for the adult
- Garden gloves
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about bracken (its old Latin name means “eagle's wing”) and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and five questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Bracken grows in open woods, clearings, pastures and burned land, often in big masses. Look in summer; the spores ripen in August and September.
Safety: bracken is poisonous to eat, including its young fiddleheads, and is harmful to cattle. Wear gloves or wash hands when you come in. After a walk through woods or tall plants, check everyone for ticks.
The leading thought
The bracken is a fern which has taken possession of the world. It is much branched and divided, and it covers the ground in masses where it grows. The edges of its pinnules are folded under to protect the spores.
Where it grows
Do you find the bracken growing in the woods or open places? Do you find it in the cultivated fields? How high does it stand?
Eagle's wings
Take a bracken frond. What is its general shape? Does it remind you of an eagle with spread wings?
From the Teacher's Story:
Its scientific name, Pteris aquilina, signifies eagle's wing.
(Today botanists call it Pteridium aquilinum.)
Feathers on feathers
Pinna means feather, pinnate therefore means feathered.
Start at the tip of a frond, where it is only lobed, and move down: once pinnate, then twice, then maybe three times. Have your child show you each one.
Hidden spores
Can you see if the edges of the pinnules are folded under? Lift up one of these edges and see if you can find what is growing beneath it.
An adult cuts a stem straight across low down. Look at the cut end with the lens.
Does it look like the initial C? Or a hoof, or an oak tree, or another initial?
Nature notebook
Draw a bracken frond as an eagle with spread wings, and the picture you saw in the cut stem. Write the word “pinnate” and what it means.