Microsorum punctatum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Polypodiales |
Suborder: | Polypodiineae |
Family: | Polypodiaceae |
Genus: | Microsorum |
Species: | M. punctatum |
Binomial name | |
Microsorum punctatum (L.) Copel. | |
Microsorum punctatum is a fern from the subfamily Microsoroideae commonly called the fishtail fern. It has been used in traditional medicine.
Description
Like other members of subfamily Microsoroideae, this species is a facultative epiphyte; it often grows epiphytically, but can also grow atop the soil surface (terrestrially) in moist, well-drained areas.
The rhizome is small, short, 50 mm in diameter, covered with dark brown scales; elongated scales, similar to triangles, 8 mm long. Single leaf lanceolate shape, green, 550 mm long, 50 mm wide, indistinct petiole, clear leaf bone, 3 mm diameter, pointed tip, winged base of leaf, branched leaf repetition.
- Leaves of Microsorum punctatum 'Grandiceps'
Uses
Juice extracted from the fronds (leaves) of the fern is used as purgative, diuretic, and wound healing agents in traditional medicine in Assam.[1]
References
- ↑ Sharma UK, Pegu S. Ethnobotany of religious and supernatural beliefs of the Mising tribes of Assam with special reference to the 'Dobur Uie'. J Ethnobiol Ethnomedicine 2011; 7(1): 16.