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Herbs & Plants

Blechnum orientale Linn.

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Botanical Name : Blechnum orientale Linn.
Family: Blechnaceae
Synonym(s): Blechnopsis orientalis (L.) Presl.
English Name: Shield Fern
Local name:
Pakong-alagdan (Tag.).

Habitat
: Pakong-alagdan is widely distributed in the Philippines. It is also found throughout India, Ceylon, and the Malay Peninsula and extends to the Malay Islands, tropical Asia, Polynesia, and Australia.

Description:
A robust fern. Caudex stout, erect, stipes 70 cm long, bearing small auricles; fronds 150 cm long, pinnae numerous, close, oblique; sori in a long continuous line close to the midrib.

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The caudex is stout, erect and densely covered with glossy brown scales. The stipes are erect, 10 to 40 centimeters long. The fronds are 20 to 200 centimeters long and 10 to 40 centimeters wide. The pinnae are 5 to 20 centimeters long and 0.5 to 2 centimeters wide and sessile. The sori are arranged in a long continuous line close to the costre.

Constituents and properties:-
Considered anthelmintic, antiviral, contraceptive and tonic.
Phytochemistry showed essential oil, phenolic compounds and triterpenoids.

Medicinal uses:

Folkloric
Used as poultife for boils.
Used for urinary complaints.
In China, the rhizomes are used as anthelmintic.
The Malays eat them.
In India, used for impotence; boils in infants and older children, diarrhea,
Used to stop wound bleeding.
In Malaysia, used for abscesses, blisters and sores; poultice of young leaves for furuncles and boils.
One of the plants used for fungal skin infections, esp ringworm: Plant is pounded with some kerosene and applied to affected areas. (source)
In Papua New Guinea, new fronds are eaten to induce sterility in women. (source)

Studies
:-
• Antibacterial: Antibacterial effect could come from the bioactive constituents of essential oil, phenolic compounds and triterpenoids.Study showed antibacterial activity, greatest against P vulgaris and less with B subtilis and S aureus.
• Studies on immunomodulatory and anthelmintic properties.
• Blechnum orientale is one of the herbal components of Blechni Rhizoma, an anti-viral formulation. (souirce)
Cytotoxicity / Breast Cancer: In vitro studies on the cytotoxic potential of three plants – Blechnum orientale, Tectaria singaporeana and Tacca integrifolia showed the roots displayed the highest cell mortality. All three plants – roots, leaves and stems – showed cytotoxic potential.
• Polyphenols / Antioxidative / Antibacterial: Study of the leaf extracts of five medicinal ferns – A aureum, Asplenium nidus, Blechnum orientale, C barometz and D linearis– showed B orientale to possess the highest amount of total polyphenols and strongest potential as antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibition and antibacterial.

Click to see : Blechnum Orientale Linn – a fern with potential as antioxidant, anticancer and antibacterial agent

Herb Effects:Antiviral, anthelmintic, female contraceptive.

According to Caius the rhizomes are used in China as an anthelmintic. Burkill reports that the Malays eat them. They also poultice boils with them. Hooper found the rhizome among drugs from Chinese pharmacies in the Straits. It seems that the Chinese use it in urinary complaints.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.impgc.com/plantinfo_A.php?id=698
http://www.2010taipeiexpo.tw/ct.asp?xItem=39619&ctNode=5719&mp=3
http://www.fernsiam.com/FernWorld/Taxonomy/BLECHNACEAE/Blechnum/

Click to access pakong-alagdan.pdf

http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/html/p/pakong-alagdan.htm

http://www.stuartxchange.com/Pakong-alagdan.html

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant)

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Botanical Name :Blechnum spicant
Family : Blechnaceae
Genus : Blechnum
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Pteridopsida
Order: Athyriales
Species: B. spicant

Synonyms :        Lomaria spicant – (L.)Desv.
Common Names:   Deer fern or Hard fern

Habitat : It is native to Europe and western North America.  Grows most of Europe, including Britain, N. Africa, Japan, Western N. America.  Woods, heaths, moors, mountain grassland and on rocks, to 1200 metres.  Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Ground Cover;

Description:
An evergreen Fern growing to 0.3m by 0.3m at a slow rate.  Like some other Blechnum it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside.
It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, and the seeds ripen from June to August.

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Deer fern fronds are dimorphic.  Sterile leaves are evergreen and are  spreading or appressed to the ground.  They are usually 4 to 16 inches (10-40 cm) long.  Fertile leaves are fewer in number, deciduous, and  much longer than the sterile leaves.  Sporangia are confluent and  parallel to the midrib.  Deer fern has woody rhizomes

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Cultivation
A calcifuge plant, it prefers a moist shady nook in the rock garden or a position in open woodland in a moist soil. Succeeds in quite dense tree shade if the soil is moist. Prefers a moist position and a northerly aspect but succeeds in sun and in clay soils. A polymorphic and very ornamental species, there are several named varieties. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation
Spores – best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid until they are well established. Overwinter for the first year in a greenhouse and plant outside in late spring or early summer. Division in spring or autumn. 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.

Cultivars
There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database.

Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves; Root.

Root – cooked. An emergency food, used when all else fails. Young shoots (often called croziers) – cooked. The young tender stems can be peeled and the centre portion eaten. An emergency food, it is only used when all else fails. It is also chewed to alleviate thirst on long journeys.

Medicinal Actions &  Uses
Astringent; Cancer; Skin; Stomachic.

The leaflets have been chewed in the treatment of internal cancer, lung disorders and stomach problems. The fronds are used externally as a medicine for skin sores. A decoction of the root has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea.

Other Uses
Ground cover.

A good ground cover plant. Relatively slow growing but succeeding in the dense shade of trees.


Known Hazards
:  Although it is  found that no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. 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.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider


Resources:

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Blechnum+spicant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blechnum_spicant
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/fern/blespi/all.html

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