The efficacy and function of long-stalked fern

The long-stalked fern is one of the common traditional Chinese medicines in our country. The medicinal history of the long-stalked fern is very long. There are records of the long-stalked fern in many ancient medical books. The long-stalked fern has good edible value and medicinal value. Let’s take a look.

【English name】 Long-stipe Mecodium

[Source] Medicinal material source: the whole herb of Pteris longipedalis of the Pteridaceae family.

[Original form] Epiphyte, plant height 15-18cm. The rhizome is brown, as thin as a thread, long and horizontal, with sparse fibrous roots underneath. Leaves are distal, 2-3cm apart; petiole is dark brown, 4-7cm long, with narrow wings on the upper part that are easily detached; leaf blade is membranous, translucent, broadly ovate, oblong or ovate-lanceolate, 8-12cm long, 2.5-4.5cm wide, tripinnate; pinnae are 10-15 pairs, alternate, with short petioles, triangular-ovate to oblong, 1-2.5cm long, 4-12mm wide, with the upper pinnae gradually narrowing; pinnules are 4-6 pairs, alternate, sessile; oblong to broadly cuneate, 3-5mm long, 2-4mm wide, decurrent below the base, closely connected, with one pinnula on the upper side of the base covering the rachis; terminal lobes are 2-6, alternate, linear to oblong-linear, obtuse at the apex or with shallow notches, entire, simple or forked; veins are forked-branched, with one terminal lobe vein. The rachis and feather rachis are brown and both have wings. There are many sori, each with fertile lobes, located in the upper 1/3-1/2 of the leaf blade; the sori is equilateral triangular-ovate, 1-1.5mm long, pointed, entire, the lip is deeply lobed almost to the base, and the lobes below it are narrower than the sori.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in forests at an altitude of 500-2700m and on damp rocks beside valley streams.

[Properties] 1. Identification by properties: The long-stalked fern is mostly wrinkled into a ball, and the rhizome is slender, filamentous, brown and smooth. The petiole is slender, 4-7cm long, about 0.5mm in diameter, dark brown and smooth; the leaf blade is broadly ovate, membranous, translucent, 8-12cm long, 2.5-4.5cm wide, and brown on both the upper and lower surfaces. Slight odor, light taste, gradually becoming spicy and numbing to the tongue.

【Nature and flavor】 Slightly bitter; cool

【Meridian】 Heart meridian

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat and detoxifies; promotes tissue regeneration and stops bleeding. Mainly used for carbuncle, furuncle, scabies, burns, swelling, bleeding due to trauma

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 9-15g. For external use: take appropriate amount, grind the dry product into powder and apply on the affected area; or crush the fresh product and apply on the affected area.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": The whole plant tastes slightly bitter and is cool in nature. The effects are the same as those of Fern.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Above we introduced the long-stalked fern and its characteristics. We can know that the long-stalked fern has very good efficacy and functions, and has played a therapeutic and auxiliary therapeutic role in many diseases. I hope this will be helpful to everyone’s health.