Athyrium filix-femina - Lady fern
Family: Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family) [E-flora]
![]() Athyrium filix-femina |
![]() Athyrium filix-femina |
![]() Athyrium filix-femina |
Subtaxa Present in B.C.
- Athyrium filix-femina ssp. cyclosorum [E-flora]
"Athyrium filix-femina is a deciduous Fern growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a medium rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 2. The seeds ripen from Jul to August.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils.
It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil." [PFAF]
"General: Deciduous perennial arising from a short, stout rhizome." [IFBC-E-flora]
"Leaves: Numerous, in vase-like tufts, 30-180 cm long, 10-70 cm wide, broadly lanceolate, broadest in the middle and gradually narrowed both to the base and to the top, 2-pinnate with pinnae divided into numerous ultimate segments." [IFBC-E-flora]
"Habitat / Range
Mesic to wet alluvial forests, glades, streambanks, gullies, slidetracks, meadows, swamps and rock outcrops from the lowland and steppe to alpine zones; common throughout BC; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to SD, NM, AZ and CA; E Asia." [IFBC-E-flora] "Moist sheltered woods, hedgebanks and ravines[4], usually on acidic soils but also found in drier and more open habitats[187]. Throughout the N. Temperate zone, including Britain, to the mountains of India, tropical S. America " [PFAF]
Status: Native [E-flora]
Hazards
"The fresh shoots 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]. Although we have found no reports for this species, a number of ferns also contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable[200]." [PFAF]
Ecological Indicator Information
"A shade-tolerant, submontane to montane, circumpolar fern distributed in Pacific, Cordilleran, and Atlantic North America. Occurs on very moist to wet, nitrogen-rich soils within boreal, temperate, and mesothermal climates. Plentiful to abundant (occasionally dominant) in non-forested communities or forest understories on water-receiving (alluvial, floodplain, seepage, and stream-edge) sites; often inhabits water-collecting (swamps and fens) sites. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms." (Information applies to coastal locations only) [IPBC-E-flora]
Edible Uses
- Shoots
- "Young shoots, harvested before they have fully unfolded, can be eaten cooked[256]. They must not be eaten raw - see the notes above on toxicity[172]. Used in spring, they are a bitter emergency food[172]." [PFAF]
"The new shoots and rhizomes were eaten by some Washington groups (Gunther, 1945; Densmore, 1939) and may have been used similarly by the Island Salish." [Turner&Bell1] - Nutritional: 100g fresh weight contains; 34 Kcal, 91 g of water, 3.2 g protein, 0.2 g fat, 0.25 mg Riboflavin, 2 g Niacin, 8.9 mg vitamin c, 4.9 g carbohydrate, 0.8 g iron, 0.6 g ash, 23 g calcium, 134 RE vitamin A. [Turner&Kuhnlein]
- "Young shoots, harvested before they have fully unfolded, can be eaten cooked[256]. They must not be eaten raw - see the notes above on toxicity[172]. Used in spring, they are a bitter emergency food[172]." [PFAF]
- Rootstalks
- ""Bulbs" on roots eaten by Makah; shoots eaten by Clallam; rootstocks said to be roasted and eaten by Quileute, Quinault, and Tanaina (poss. mistaken for Dryopteris)" [Turner&Kuhnlein]
- "Rhizome - peeled and slow-baked[118, 257]. Reports that the root of this plant were eaten by native North American Indians are likely to be mistaken, it was probably Dryopteris expansa that was used[256]." [PFAF]
Medicinal Uses
"A root tea is made for relieving caked breasts in a nursing mother. It is also used for various female disorders. Among the whites,229 the root is used for its anthelminthic and vermifuge properties." [HuronSmith Zuni]
- Root
- "The roots are anthelmintic and diuretic[4, 222]. A tea of the boiled roots has been used to treat general body pains[213, 257], to stop breast pains caused by childbirth and to induce milk flow in caked breasts[222, 257]. The dried powdered root has been applied externally to heal sores[222, 257]. A liquid extract of the root is an effective anthelmintic, though it is less powerful than the male fern, Dryopteris felix-mas[4]." [PFAF] "The medicinal part is the rhizome when gathered in spring or autumn." [PDR]
- "The drug is a mild expectorant; a choleretic-type effect is questionable." [PDR]
- "Unproven Uses: The drug is used for respiratory and gastrointestinal tract illnesses." [PDR]
- "Mode of Administration: The drug is obsolete in Germanspeaking countries. However, Lady Fern is still found in
commercial preparations as drops and tablets, as well as in preparations used in the religious system of anthroposophy." [PDR]
"Daily Dosage: In anthroposophic medicine, the usual dose to treat gastrointestinal illnesses is 1 to 2 tablets or 10 to 20 drops taken 3 times daily." [PDR]
- "The drug is a mild expectorant; a choleretic-type effect is questionable." [PDR]
- "The roots are anthelmintic and diuretic[4, 222]. A tea of the boiled roots has been used to treat general body pains[213, 257], to stop breast pains caused by childbirth and to induce milk flow in caked breasts[222, 257]. The dried powdered root has been applied externally to heal sores[222, 257]. A liquid extract of the root is an effective anthelmintic, though it is less powerful than the male fern, Dryopteris felix-mas[4]." [PFAF] "The medicinal part is the rhizome when gathered in spring or autumn." [PDR]
- Stems
- "A tea of the boiled stems has been used to relieve labour pains[213, 222, 257]." [PFAF]
- Young Fronds
- "The young unfurled fronds have been eaten to treat internal ailments such as cancer of the womb[257]." [PFAF]
Other Usage
- Cooking: "fronds used for lining steaming pits by Diti-daht (Nitinaht) and others" [Turner&Kuhnlein]
- Red Paint Making: "Athyrium fronds were used in manufacturing red paint from a species of alder fungus (see Fungi). They were dampened and placed over the heated fungus until it turned red (Boas, 1909)." [Turner&Bell2]
Phytochemistry
"Tannins (8%)" [PDR]
"C-glucosyl flavones: including mangiferin" [PDR]
Phytoecdysones [PDR]
Amaroids [PDR]
"Saponin: including the steroid saponin osladin" [PDR]
Essential oil [PDR]
Cultivation
"An easily grown plant[4], it is calcifuge and prefers an acid soil with a pH from 4.5 to 6.5, but it tolerates alkaline soils if plenty of leaf mould is added[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a moist sheltered site with moderately high atmospheric humidity[200]. A very ornamental [1] and polymorphic species, there are many named varieties selected for their ornamental value[187]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233]." [PFAF]
Propagation
"Spores - surface sow in a pot of sterile compost in a shady part of the greenhouse and keep moist, this is most easily done by putting the pot in a plastic bag. Pot up small clumps of the plants when they are large enough to handle and keep them moist until they are established. Plant out in late spring of the following year. Division in spring as plants come into growth. Larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well." [PFAF]
Synonyms
- Aspidium filix-femina (L.) Sw. Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- Asplenium dombeyi (Desv.) Mett. Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- Asplenium filix-femina (L.) Bernh. Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- Lastrea filix-femina (L.) Colomb Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- Nephrodium filix-femina (L.) Michx. Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- Polypodium filix-femina L. Synonym ** Confidence [ThePlantList.org]
- [E-flora] https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Athyrium%20filix-femina&redblue=Both&lifeform=5, Accessed 01/22/2021
- [PFAF] Accessed Feb 12, 2015, http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Athyrium+filix-femina
- [ThePlantList] Accessed Feb 12, 2015, www.theplantlist.org
- Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- No machine-readable author provided. MPF assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athyrium Sp. - Lady Fern
"Rhizome short-creeping to suberect, stout. Leaf: stipe stout, fleshy, easily crushed, straw-colored except base generally blackened, base scaly, ×-section with 2 crescent-shaped vascular strands; blade generally >= 2-pinnate, pinnae of equal sides, ± glabrous or minutely hairy, veins free. Sporangia: sori ± round, ± oblong, or J-shaped; indusia 0, oblong, J-shaped, or reniform, laterally attached.
± 100 species: generally northern temperate, especially eastern Asia. (Greek: doorless, from enclosed sori)" [Jepson]
Local Species;
- Athyrium filix-femina - lady fern [E-flora]
- Athyrium distentifolium - alpine lady fern [E-flora]
References
- [Jepson] 2013. Athyrium, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=54990, accessed on Dec 26 2014
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