Bracken Fern
Thetford Forest is located in the Environmentally Sensitive Area of the Brecks or Breckland. The name Breckland appears as early as the 13th century in the form of Brakelond. Brake, or Bracken Fern Pteridium aquilinum, thrives in deforested areas, particularly areas of rough grazing such as the heaths of Breckland. Local breeds of sheep were farmed that could graze on bracken fern - which prevented the fern from swamping the sheep-walks. Locals could find other uses for Bracken - such as for fuel, sillage, pig food, and roof thatching.
An alternative origin for the name Breckland, is that the Brecks were heathland soils that were broken by the plough from time to time - echoing the local forms of shifting cultivation and infield/outfield system that have existed here. Maybe it is a combination - and that bracken (broken) often grew in abandoned fields?
