The colonisation of islands by bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)

Summary

Of twenty-four small islands off the West Coast of Scotland, sixteen carried bracken. Those that did not were on the whole smaller than those that did, and generally were not wooded. It is estimated that in this region the minimal area, within which there is an even chance of a bracken colony having developed, is a few hectares in the open and less than one hectare in woodland or scrub.