| Menu list goes here |
Herbal Database Search Results
Back
to: Pathways Main Search
Page For Metaphysical uses
visit The Witchs Haven
Adiantum capillus-veneris
| Common name: |
Maidenhair Fern |
Family: |
Polypodiaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable[200].
Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase[172]. |
| Range: |
Tropical and warm temperate zones throughout the world, including Britain. |
| Habitat: |
Rock crevices, cliffs by the sea on basic rocks in damp positions[9, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. capillis-veneris[E]
A. capillus-veneris var. modestum[B,P]
A. capillus-veneris var. protrusum[B,P]
A. modestum[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Common Maidenhair [P], Culantrillo [S], Culantrillo De Pozo [E], Fern, Maidenhair [S], Hair Of Venus [H], Krafs Al Bir [E], Maidenhair [E], Maidenhair Fern [S], Southern Maidenhair [B], True Maidenhair [H], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Polypodiales. Polypody family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Egypt; Hawaii; India; Iraq; Lesotho; Mexico; Mexico(Kickapoo); Spain; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia)
|
Physical Characteristics
Fern growing to 0.3m by 0.3m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. The seeds ripen from May to September. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland).
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, In Walls, In West Wall.Edible Uses
Drink; Leaves; Tea.
The fronds are used as a garnish on sweet dishes[5].
The dried fronds are used to make a tea[2, 106, 115, 177, 183].
A syrup is made from the plant - it makes a refreshing summer drink[115,
183]. The fern (does this refer to the rootstock?) is simmered in water for
several hours and the liquid made into a thick syrup with sugar and orange
water. It is then mixed with fruit juices to make a refreshing drink.
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antidandruff; Antitussive; Depurative; Emmenagogue; Expectorant; Galactogogue; Refrigerant; Stings; Tonic; Vermifuge.
The maidenhair fern has a long history of medicinal use and was the
main ingredient of a popular cough syrup called 'Capillaire', which remained
in use until the nineteenth century[268]. The plant is little used in modern
herbalism.
The fresh or dried leafy fronds are antidandruff, antitussive, astringent,
demulcent, depurative, emetic, weakly emmenagogue, emollient, weakly
expectorant, febrifuge, galactogogue, laxative, pectoral, refrigerant,
stimulant, sudorific and tonic[4, 7, 9, 21, 46, 61, 218, 222, 240, 268]. A
tea or syrup is used in the treatment of coughs, throat afflictions and
bronchitis[222]. It is also used as a detoxicant in alcoholism[7] and to
expel worms from the body[222]. Externally, it is used as a poultice on snake
bites, bee stings etc[218, 222, 257]. In Nepal, a paste made from the fronds
is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches and to the chest to relieve
chest pains[272]. The plant is best used fresh, though it can also be
harvested in the summer and dried for later use[7, 9].
Other Uses
Hair.
The leaves are used as a hair tonic and treatment for dandruff[21, 106,
222].
Cultivation details
Requires an abundance of moisture in the air and in the soil[4], though
the soil should be well-drained[238]. Likes a position with plenty of light
but dislikes full sun[1]. Prefers a sheltered shady position[238]. If the
plant dries out temporarily it will lose most of its fronds, though it will
usually resprout from the base[238].
Plants are not very hardy outdoors in Britain, even though they are a native
species[K]. They only succeed in areas with little or no frosts, growing well
on maritime cliffs in the milder areas of the country[K].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].
A very ornamental plant[1].
Propagation
Spores - best sown as soon as ripe on the surface of a humus-rich
sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag
over the pot. Germination should take place within 6 weeks[238]. Pot on small
clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid
until they are well established. Do not plant outside until the ferns are at
least 2 years old and then only in a very well sheltered position.
Division in spring or autumn. Best carried out in early spring[238].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] SW USA Dist. Maps
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [R] Rainforest medicinal Data
(common names, medicinal uses, images) from the Rain-Tree.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Adiantum capillis-veneris (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
Readers Comments
Back to: Pathways Home page,
Main Search Page
Help
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Adiantum+capillus%2dveneris
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Adiantum+capillus%2dveneris
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if
you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.
|
|
