See text Pteris (brake) is a genus of about 300 species of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae.

The term "brake", used for members of this genus, is a Middle English word for "fern" from southern England.

Pteris vittata (commonly known as brake fern) was discovered to have the ability to "hyperaccumulate" (absorb large amounts of) arsenic from soil.

The fern was growing at a central Florida site contaminated with large amounts of copper arsenate in the soil.

Dr. Lena Q. Ma of the University of Florida later discovered that it had hyperaccumulated considerable amounts of arsenic from the soil.