Species: Dicranopteris pedata
English name: Forked Fern
Chinese name: 芒萁、狼萁
Family: Gleicheniaceae.
Description:
Stem erect or trailing. Rhizome slender, creeping. Leaves sparsely arranged, with rachise branching usually 2-3 times. A dormant bud at each branching point covered with hairs and protected by a pair of leafy bract. A pair of pinnae presented at each branching point as well as at the tip, pinnae lanceolate, pinnatipartite, with several decade pair of lobes, pale-white or grey-blue beneath.
It can be found growing on hillsides and mountain slope.
Preparation: Whole herb, root and stem are used. They can be collected in all seasons, well-washed, used fresh or sun-dried.
Properties: Sweet, bland in taste, mild in nature.
Actions and Indications: Clears heat, expels damp, expels sputum, relieves hemorrhage. Indicated for urinary infection, leucorrhea, metrorrhagia, acute trachitis, traumatic injury.
© 2003 Chan Shek Kiu
References:
– Department of Gardens and Green Areas, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macao Special Administrative Region, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science 2005. Flora of Macao (Volume 1). Macao, SAR: Author