Bracken fern has the largest fronds of any of our common ferns, often up to 3 m (sometimes 5 m) tall. The fronds arise singly from an extensive and deep rhizome system. The fronds are deciduous, triangular in outline, and 2-3 times pinnate. The sori are relatively rare, but are marginal and covered by the rolled leaf edge instead of a true indusium. Bracken fern is our most widely-distributed fern (it may be the most widely-distributed vascular plant in the world!) and is exceedingly common in the understory of dry open woods, roadsides, clearings, and recently burned sites.