Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide

By Judson Carroll

Ferns and Fern Allies (such as Horsetail and Clubmoss) have been used as herbal medicine since a time long before recorded history. That is not surprising, as these are the most ancient vascular plants on earth. There has never been a time when man walked the earth, that the ferns were not there as food, medicine, fiber, etc. We find the use of ferns recorded in nearly every tradition of herbal medicine, of every people on earth. Yet, before now, there has been no comprehensive guide to the Ferns, Fern Allies and their uses.

In setting out to correct this omission, I studied the herbal materia medicas, pharmacopias and folk lore of cultures spanning the globe, and the centuries. In this book, you will find information from the great physicians of ancient Greece, Jewish, Polish and Russian folk healers, Saints of the Middle Ages, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Elizabethan English doctors, German Folk Medicine, Native American healers, early American physicians, etc... all the way to the modern use of these plants in herbal medicine.

I also include interesting stories and folk lore regarding ferns from various cultures. These ancient plants feature prominently in myth and legend. While the folklore makes up only a small part of this book, its inclusion makes for fascinating and entertaining reading, along with the herbal information.

I truly enjoyed writing this book and believe it will be a valuable addition to the library of any herbalist. I am also sure that it will appeal to any lover of plants and people. While I am not one to believe in fairies and myths, ferns are certainly both beautiful and useful. Combining this book with a simple field guide or plant ID app should give the reader endless hours of pleasure in the woods and many practical uses for these most ancient and fascinating plants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judson Carroll
• Release date: Nov 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005212629

Judson Carroll

Judson CarrollI am a certified Master Herbalist and Permaculturist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, USA. I began learning about herbs and their uses from the old Appalachian folks, especially the Hicks family of Beech Creek, when I was around 15.I host the Southern Appalachian Herbal Podcast: Southern Appalachian Herbs https://www.spreaker.com/show/southern-appalachian-herbsI teach free, online herbal medicine classes: Herbal Medicine 101 https://rumble.com/c/c-618325I also write a weekly article on herbs and their properties: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/151My passion is being outside, enjoying the woods, the water and the garden. My mission is to revive the tradition of “folk medicine” in America, so families can care for their own ailments at home, using the herbs God gave us for that purpose. I am a moderator and contributor for The Grow Network and you can communicate with me there https://thegrownetwork.com/My email address is [e-mail]

Book preview

Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies

By

Judson Carroll

Disclaimer:

The information in this book is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. I am not a health practitioner and am not offering advice. No content in this book has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. Following any information in this book is at your own risk.

Do your own thorough research before following any herbal advice. Be aware of interactions (drug or herbal), allergy, sensitivity or underlying conditions before proceeding with following any health information.

By continuing to read this book you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to hold me responsible for your own actions.

Copyright 2022

All rights reserved. This book may not be shared or reproduced without written permission by the author.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Natural History of Ferns and Folklore

The Medicinal Use for Ferns in General

Medicinal Uses of Specific Ferns

Adiantum capillus-veneris, Venus or Southern Maidenhair Fern

Adiantum pedatum, Northern or True Maidenhair Fern

Adiantum venestum

Arthromeris wallichiana

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, Black Maidenhair Fern

Asplenium bulbiferum

Asplenium rhizophyllum, Walking Fern

Asplenium ruta-muraria, Rue Fern, Rue Spleenwort, etc.

Asplenium trichomanes, the English Spleenwort

Athyrium felix-femina, Female Fern

Dryopteris filix-mas, Male Fern

Athyrium melanolepis, niponicum, rubripes, squamigerum and yokosense

Blechnum spicant

Botrychium lunaria, Moonwort

Botrychium virginianum, Rattlesnake Fern

Ceterach officinarum, Common Spleenwort

Cibotium barometz, Scythian Lamb or Vegetable Lamb

Coniogramme japonica

Cyathea dealbata, Tree Fern and Cyathea medullaris, Black Tree Fern

Cyrtomium falcatum, Holly Fern

Cyrtomium fortunei

Cystopteris fragilis, Brittle Bladder Fern

Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Hay-Scented Fern

Dryopteris barbigera

Dryiopteris carthusiana, Buckler Fern or Shield Fern

Dryopteris crassirhizoma, Crown Wood Fern

Dryopteris cristata, Crested Wood Fern

Dryopteris dilatata

Dryopteris expansa

Dryopteris fragrans, Fragrant Fern

Lepidogrammitis drymoglossoides

Matteuccia struthiopteris, Ostrich Fern

Onoclea sensibilis, Sensitive Fern

Osmunda cinnamomea, Cinnamon Fern

Osmunda claytoniana, Interrupted Fern

Osmunda Regalis, Royal Fern

Ophioglossum vulgatum, Adder’s Tongue

Pellaea, Cliff Brake

Phyllitis scolopendrium, Hart’s Tongue Fern

Polypodium glycyrrhiza, Licorice Fern

Polypodium lineare

Polypodium polypodioides, Resurection Fern

Polypodium vulgare, Common Polypody

Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas Fern

Polystichum aculeatum

Polystichum munitum, Giant Holly Fern

Pteridium aquilinum, Brake or Bracken

Woodwardia radicans, Wood Chain Fern

Fern Allies

Equisetum, the Horsetails

Club Moss

Not a Fern (but often mistaken for one)

Sweet Fern, Comptonia peregrina

One Last Bit of Lore

Sources and Afterward

Introduction

In writing a book on ferns, it is difficult not to make the introductory chapter over-long. Ferns have such a fascinating history. They are not merely beautiful plants, but among the most ancient. Ferns are a subject of folklore, have been sought after obsessively by plant collectors, are associated with myth and magic and many are, in fact, useful as medicinal herbs. I admit that I am unable to explain much of the myth and magic associated with ferns in many cultures, but to ignore them as mere superstition would be to ignore rich associations between mankind and plants. The stories are entertaining, if nothing more.

Were I to venture a guess, I might attribute such beliefs about ferns to something of a genetic memory. From time immemorial, man has held both mushrooms and ferns in a certain type of awe. Of course, certain mushrooms contain hallucinogenic compounds, others hold deadly toxins, while others are deliciously edible and many are powerful medicinal. The amount of respect and legend surrounding mushrooms is very easy to understand. Anything that takes a good amount of training to identify and may either kill you or alter your mental state must, by necessity, be treated with respect. Ferns are different. While many ferns are edible and medicinal, those that are (or may be) toxic are not as dramatically and suddenly deadly as poisonous mushrooms. Yet, both are among the most ancient developed life forms on earth. Perhaps there is a type of genetic memory that reminds man of something far older and elemental than himself or of most things common to his environment?

Regardless, having spent most of my life both in the Appalachian Mountains and coastal swamps of the Carolinas, I came to appreciate a remarkable diversity of ferns at an early age. My home state contains a large number of native ferns, and many that have been introduced as ornamental. Some of the ferns that are indigenous to my region are rare, while others may be found most anywhere with shade and a temperate climate. Other ferns and fern allies tolerate much harsher environments. These ancient plants have acclimated with the climate and evolved over millions of years. In my yard, alone, grows ostrich fern, royal fern, cinnamon fern, wood fern, bracken fern, maidenhair fern, venus maidenhair fern and lady fern… and probably a few others. The woods around my home are carpeted with more varieties of fern than I have been able to identify. The heavy morning fog and regular afternoon rains could certainly lead one to see fairies or nunnehi as the Cherokee called the little people playing in the shadows. I have never seen any wood spirits. As an orthodox Catholic though, I do give credence to the writings of Saint Hildegard von Bingen, a Doctor of the Church, whose medicinal and spiritual beliefs often overlapped. Saint Hildegard was quite fond of ferns!

Many ferns have been used medicinally in the herbal traditions of various cultures. Several ferns are also edible and remarkably tasty. However, modern research has found that some of the ferns once commonly used and eaten may be slightly toxic, and a few even carcinogenic. While I believe many of these warnings are overstated - such as in the case of the bracken fern, which is commonly eaten, sold in stores, served in restaurants and considered a spring delicacy – I will make note of such cautions as we discuss the varieties.

Before the advent of botanical classification, many ferns were written of more generally. Often, ferns were recommended to be applied externally for muscle, joint and nerve pain. No specifics were given as to which fern. But, this is a blessing, as it is remarkable how effective the simple application of ferns, fern allies are for such issues. Neither I, nor modern medicine, can explain why. But, hundreds of years of empirical evidence among different regions and cultures has found ferns effective. For most species of fern, I will be able to provide specific medicinal use. Some ferns though, may always remain a mystery. Maybe that is a reason I find ferns so interesting… in the mysteries of the dark woods and dense mists the shaft of sunlight that illuminates an emerald grove of ferns. I sit down in the soft moss and leaves, with my back against a huge old tree and just enjoy the quiet in cool shade, listening to the creek, watching the birds, animals and the quality of the light as it reflects on the glistening dew of the ferns. In the winter, I walk those same woods and find the ferns, a darker shade of green than the rhododendron, under freshly fallen snow.

The Natural History of Ferns and Folklore

Ferns and Fern Allies (such as Club Moss and Horsetail) were the first vascular plants to appear on earth. They were preceded only by fungi, algae, lichens and mosses. Some three hundred and fifty million years ago, these plants took root (if you will pardon a mild pun) and allowed animal life on earth to exist. Without plants to eat, the herbivores could not survive, and with out herbivores, the carnivores would have nothing to eat. The ferns, their allies and the fungi provided the food for things that walked on land and flew. Those were insects and dinosaurs. While life in the water was more ancient, this was a significant development without which we and the mammals, birds and reptiles we take for granted as part of our natural environment, would not be here. Neither, would trees, shrubs, vines and flowers. Perhaps equally important to modern life, were it not for these early vascular plants and the dinosaurs that fed on them, we would have no fossil fuels and no modern civilization.

The early ferns and fern allies were massive. Their vascular nature allowed them to draw water and nutrition from the soil and grow to reach sunlight for energy. These were not the ground cover ferns we live with now. These ferns were like trees, growing over 100 feet tall. Early ferns created forests in the mild and misty climate of the Carboniferous Period. As the climate changed over hundreds of millions of years, unlike the dinosaurs, ferns and their allies were able to adapt. They became smaller and were able to find niches ideally suited to their needs through a singular defining feature of these plants: they propagate by spores.

Unlike plants that bear seeds, spores do not need to be fertilized by pollen. They do not need to drop into fertile soil from the plant or be transplanted by birds and animals. They often do not need ideal conditions to grow. Spores may be carried on the wind, by water, on fur, feather or clothing. They can remain dormant for decades. They may lodge in a crack in a rock or find rich humus in a dark forest. One plant produces millions of spores. And, wherever one finds conditions suitable for survival, a new plant grows. In this regard, Ferns and their allies have much in common with fungi. This unique reproductive property makes ferns very different from other plants. Each spore is a single cell capable of growing into a new plant… a plant that may be very different from its parent. As the spore is, essentially, an individual, it has far more ability to adapt than do seeds, which receive genetic material through sexual reproduction. As the fern grows, any part that touches the soil will form roots, while any part facing the sun will form a shoot. This makes the spore somewhat like the motto of the Isle of Man with is bizarre flag that shows an odd arrangement of legs, Wherever you throw it, it shall stand.

Beyond that, I don’t think any further discussion is relevant to this book about the details of fern reproduction. It is, however, a fascinating study in botany and biology, as the reproduction of spores is in some ways similar to animal biology. As with fungi and bacteria, there is much more going on with these primitive forms of life than one may imagine. While we are higher life forms, and even. The Crown of Creation, there is much about the development of life on earth that we do not know. Especially in regard to mycology, our knowledge is fractional at best. We know more about the moon and stars than we do the soil and the primitive lifeforms in it that are essential to our own lives. Regardless, that one may see in the fern something ancient, predating human understanding of the world and our environment, should not be surprising.

What may surprise you is the fervor with which ferns were collected in the Victorian era of the British Empire! It is through this plant collecting and botanical cataloging obsession that much of our modern knowledge of ferns is based. Before this era, ferns had been documented by botanists and listed in herbal materia medicas or pharmacopoeias for centuries. But, in most cases, the botanist, physician or apothecary had only such ferns as grew locally. The international nature of the empire, along with the invention of the heated glass greenhouse, made plant collecting both a British and a French passion. But, the British seemed particularly enthralled with ferns. Perhaps, that was because the fern was a legendary part of British folklore and in the rise of the industrial era, those who could afford so to do brought both exotic plants and the magic of nature into their homes. Regardless, the documentation of new world species that made a good living for John James Audubon in early America became a frenzied obsession of plant collection in the Victorian era. Grand estates had massive glass houses, while modest homes featured terrariums or Wardian cases as a sign of status and refinement. In 1857, John Smith’s Catalogue of Cultivated Ferns contained 560 species cultivated by British plant collectors, most of them exotic. The staggeringly impressive Great Conservatory Showhouse in London was a plant geeks dream!

America never seemed to catch the fern collecting bug to the extent of the British. But, by the late 1800s ferns had become ornamental. That began a nursery industry of growing ferns for hanging baskets and some decorative carved elements for homes. But, we never seemed to regard ferns with the sense of awe that our European ancestors embraced. I think it would be appropriate if I mentioned a bit of that folklore before getting into herbal use.

Moonwort, or Botrychium lunaria was one such fern that seemed to fascinate the British. This fern was associated with fairies and oddly enough, was believed to hold a magical power that caused horses to loose their shoes if they came in contact with it. It was also believed to have the power of opening locks. Alchemists believed it could change the nature of metals.

The Male Fern, or Dryopteris filix-mas was used in love potions and was a favorite herb used by witches for casting spells. While, another fern known as the Lady Fern, Saint John’s Hand or Athyrium filix-femina was worn as a talisman and charm against evil. Bracken, or Pterdium aquilinum was used similarly and believed to be blessed by Christ. It was thought especially powerful against evil spirits and the works of the devil. But, perhaps the most remarkable story regarding ferns was mentioned by Shakespeare; it was believed in his era that the spores of certain ferns, gathered at midnight on certain holy days could enable one to become invisible. Surely, this was a Christianized legend with pagan origins. Regardless, it is clear that our ancestors held ferns in far more esteem that merely decoration or botanical interest.

The Medicinal Use for Ferns in General

We will start with the more traditional uses of ferns, beginning with the advice of Saint Hildegard von Bingen. Saint Hildegard was a Christian mystic who received her knowledge through visions. She was taught by The Voice of The Living Light. She wrote several books on theology, much of the religious music of the Middle Ages and two books on herbal medicine which are incomparable. While her herbal medicine is so intensely united with the spiritual, that we may have a great deal of trouble understanding her advice in the context of modern science, it is well worth remembering that she is a Doctor of the Church. Her writings were not mere folklore or superstition. They are divine knowledge that is often beyond human understanding. For Saint Hildegard, the physical and spiritual are two aspects that comprise the whole of the human being.

In a religious perspective, all sickness has its roots in the poison of sin that brought death and sickness into the world. The same God who created man created the physical world for his good. An herb or other medicine affected not just the physical illness, but had a spiritual component that must be combined with prayer and penance to bring healing to body and soul. As a mystic, Saint Hildegard saw the spiritual world in the physical world. She saw manifestations of evil that harmed mankind – demons and evil forces. She taught that some herbs, metals, precious stones, etc. were given to humanity to protect us from the forces of the devil. But, these were not talismans or magical charms. These gifts from God would be useless without prayer, fasting and a deep religious devotion.

We may be reminded that in the Bible, Jesus could certainly have healed the blind man through His word alone, as God. Yet, our Lord made a clay and applied it to the mans eyes, and the healing was dependent on the faith of the blind man, not by fiat. He also instructed some to bathe in a certain pool. Jewish legend states that this pool was stirred by the Archangel Raphael, and that those who bathed in the pool when the waters were troubled found healing. In the Book of Tobit, we read that the same Archangel Raphael used a smoke made from burning a certain dried fish to drive off a demon that had killed several young men, and advised a paste made of the same fish to heal the eyes of a man blinded through an infection. The physical and spiritual were united for healing.

While this may be hard to understand in an era of modern medicine, it is well worth noting that physics teaches us that matter does not exist as we know it. All matter is comprised of energy, vibrating at specific frequencies, which gives form to what we can see, feel, taste and hear. If sickness is disharmony that leads to degeneration, perhaps by correcting that vibration with a substance or even a prayer, brings the body back into harmony. That would be healing at a level that modern medicine cannot explain and does not understand. It would be far too easy to dismiss the writings of Saint