Maidenhair Fern
Parts Usually Used
Leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Adiantum pedatum: Maidenhair fern is a delicate perennial fern; the creeping rootstock produces leaves from 1 to 2 1/2 feet high, growing on dark, polished stalks which are forked at the top. Each fork bears 3 to 8 long-oblong pinnae, or leaflets, which are themselves divided into smaller oblong segments, or pinnules, which are incised on the upper margin but entire on the lower side.
Adiantum capillus-veneris: There are some eighty varieties of this plant, some of which grow abundantly in Canada and the United Sates. Maidenhair is perennial and is found in deep woods and moist, rich soil. This is a very delicate and graceful flowering fern growing from 12-15 inches high, with a slender, polished stalk. The leaves are aromatic and bitterish.
Where Found
Grows in moist, cool places in North American and Asia. Found in rich woods, moist limestone ravines. Maine south to Georgia; Louisiana; west to Oklahoma; north to Minnesota and westward.
Medicinal Properties
Expectorant, anti-rheumatic, demulcent, pectoral, refrigerant, tonic
Legends, Myths and Stories
Maidenhair is used to flavor liqueurs and cordials. The Romans were fascinated by the unusual qualities of the delicate maidenhair fern when it is immersed in water; under water it glistens with a silvery sheen; but when removed, it is perfectly dry, for water will not cling to it. ecause of these seemingly magic qualities, the maidenhair fern in Roman mythology was said to represent the hair of Venus when she arose from the foam of the sea, thus the name maidenhair.
The plant’s Latin genus name Adiantum comes from the Greek words Adian-tum, meaning “unwetted”.
Uses
Historically, herbalists prepared decoctions from the leaves of Adiantum pedatum for coughs, hoarseness, catarrhal complaints, and congestion associated with colds, asthma, and flu. The plant and related species were also utilized in preparations for the hair and scalp, with traditions dating back to antiquity that employed the fern as a hair tonic or scalp lotion intended to address premature baldness.
Native Americans throughout North America similarly used maidenhair as a hair wash to impart shine. In historical herbalism, Adiantum capillus-veneris was likewise recommended for respiratory complaints, including coughs, nasal congestion, flu, catarrh, hoarseness, and asthma.
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 Indian Uses of Native Plants , by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.
, Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974