Plants with feathery green leaves, of which some varieties are known as 'bracken', and which commonly grow in thickets known as 'brakes'. Ferns were common all across Middle-earth, and we have accounts of them in places as far apart as the Talath Dirnen of West Beleriand and the lands east of the Misty Mountains.
Dried fern makes effective tinder for the lighting of fires, and it was used in this way by the Goblins when they attempted to trap Bilbo Baggins and his companions in burning fir trees during the Quest of Erebor.
The word 'ferny' is used of a place growing rich with ferns, and from this came a family name used among the Men of Bree. Notorious among this family was Bill Ferny, who became an agent of Saruman at Bree.
Notes
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Though there are thousands of different species of fern, Tolkien most likely had in mind the familiar and common variety known as bracken. Indeed, he names 'bracken' specifically at several points, narrowing down the kind of fern in question to one of a handful of broad-leafed species in the genus Pteridium.
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- Updated 23 February 2020
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