Here's something interesting about ferns I recently learned. When scientists were investigating the increased prevalence of gastric and other GI cancers in Asi

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