
Study documents drought’s impact on redwood forest ferns - Mz
https://scienmag.com/study-documents-droughts-impact-on-redwood-forest-ferns/
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mudil
Here's something interesting about ferns I recently learned. When scientists
were investigating the increased prevalence of gastric and other GI cancers in
Asian countries, they turned their attention to Braken fern, whose shoots
(fiddleheads) are commonly eaten in Asia, as well as in US. Turns out Braken
fern contains a well known and documented carcinogen called ptaquiloside or
PTA. It causes cancer in animals and in humans. But here's the kicker: Danish
scientist Lars Holm Rasmussen released a study in 2004 showing that the
carcinogenic PTA compound in bracken fern can leach from the plant into the
water supply, which may explain an increase in the incidence of gastric and
esophageal cancers in bracken-rich areas. Such as Pacific NW of US. (There is
also evidence that PTA is spread through inhalation of pores of ferns!)

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11945131](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11945131)

