Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies: Adiantum capillus-veneris, Venus or Southern Maidenhair Fern

This fern has a long history of historic use and is quite pretty. It has also been considered an edible fern and I have been unable to find any documented toxicity regarding this species.

Perhaps the earliest known use of Adiantum was recorded in Jewish folklore. The Encyclopedia Judaica tells us:

In talmudic literature close upon 70 plants are mentioned as having medicinal properties, including plants mainly used as food, such as olives, dates, pomegranates, quinces among fruit – and garlic, beet , hyssop , cumin , and fennel-flower among vegetables and spices. In addition wild plants are mentioned which were used principally for remedial purposes. The following are some of the medicinal plants enumerated in the Talmud: for a liver ailment, יֹעֶזֶר yo'ezer "maidenhair fern"; Adiantum capillus veneris; Shab. 14:3; Shab. 109b); as an antidote for snake poison, אַבּוּב רוֹעֶה abbuv ro'eh, "knoodweed," Polygonum aviculare; i bid.); for eye ailments, scurvy, and intestinal worms, גַּרְגִּיר gargir, "roquet"; Eruca sativa; Shab. 109a; Git. 69b); recommended for intestinal worms are the leaves of עָרָא ara, "bay"; Laurus nobilis; Git. 69b) and אֵזוֹב ezov, "hyssop"; Majorana syriaca; Shab. 109b); for intestinal ailments, שִׁחְלַיִים ׁshiḥlayim, "garden cress"; Lepidium sativum; Av. Zar. 29a; Git.

57a); for skin disease, תֶּרֶד tered, "spinach beet"; Beta vulgarisvar. cicla; Shab. 133b f.), considered efficacious in many ailments, it having been said that "a broth of spinach beet is beneficial for the heart, good for eyes, and still more so for the bowels" (Ber. 39a); for דְּמָא דְּרֵישָׁא (dema de-reisha), apparently blood pressure in the head, הֲדַס Hadas, "myrtle"), and the wild rose (Rosa canina; Git. 68b) are recommended; for stopping hemorrhage, כַּמּוֹן kammon, "cumin"), תַּחֲלֵי taḥalei; garden cress), and seeds of סְנֶה seneh, "the raspberry"; Rubus sanctus) are suggested (Shab. 19:2; Av. Zar. 28 a–b). There is in addition a long list of medicinal plants, potions, and remedies from the plant world which are prescribed in the Talmud. A number of remedies were known for restoring virility, for increasing seed, for aphrodisiac purposes, for inducing temporary sterility, or for preventing conception. Several herbs are prescribed as cosmetics. Opium is mentioned once – as a plant dangerous to buy from gentiles (TJ, Av. Zar. 2:2, 40d).

(Thanks to J.P. for help with the Aramaic! Check him out at https://substack.com/@bushfoodforager)

Dioscorides, writing in de Materia Medica, tells us the use of this fern in ancient Greek medicine:

Adiantum has little leaves similar to coriander, jagged on the top; and the little stalks on which they grow are black, very thin, twenty centimetres long, and glistening. The leaves are like filix [fern], very small. It bears no [other] stalk, flower, or seed. The root is useless. A decoction of the herb (taken as a drink) is able to help asthma, difficulty in breathing, jaundice, the splenical, and frequent painful urination. Taken as a drink with wine, it breaks stones [urinary, kidney], stops discharges of the intestines, and helps those bitten by venomous creatures, and excessive discharges of the stomach. It

draws out the menstrual flow and afterbirth. It stops the spitting-up of blood. It is smeared on (raw) for venomous beast bites, thickens the loss of hair [alopecia] and disperses tumours [possibly goitre]. With lye it wipes off dandruff and scaly eruptions of the scalp. With ladanum and oil myrsinum and inhalants (or else oesypum [lanolin] and wine) it prevents falling hair. A decoction of it (rubbed on with lye and wine) does the same. It makes cocks and quails more vicious, mixed with their meat. It is planted for sheep around sheep enclosures [feed]. It grows in shady marshy places, and around moist walls and fountains. It is also called polytrichon, callitrichon, trichomanes, ebenotrichon, argion, or coriandrum aquaticum; the Egyptians call it epiert, the Romans, cincinnalis, some, terrae capillus, or supercilium

terrae, and the Dacians, phithophthethela.

Pliny the Elder tells us in his Natural History, written around 77 AD:

The adiantum is of singular efficacy in expelling and breaking calculi of the bladder, the dark kind in particular; and it is for this reason, in my opinion, rather than because it grows upon stones, that it has received from the people of our country its name of “ saxifragum.”. It is taken in wine, the usual dose being a pinch of it in three fingers. Both these plants are diuretics, and act as an antidote to the venom of serpents and spiders; a decoction of them in wine arrests looseness of the bowels. A wreath of them, worn on the head, alleviates head-ache. For the bite of the scolopendra they are applied topically, but they must be removed every now and then, to prevent them from cauterizing the flesh. They are employed in a similar manner also for alopecy. They disperse scrofulous sores, scurf on the face, and running ulcers of the head. A decoction of them is useful also for asthma, affections of the liver and spleen, enlarged secretions of the gall,and dropsy. In combination with wormwood, they form a liniment for strangury and affections of the kidneys; they have the effect also of bringing away the after-birth, and act as an emmenagogue. Taken with vinegar or juice of bramble#berries, they arrest haemorrhage. Combined with rose-oil they are employed as a liniment for excoriations on infants, the part affected being first fomented with wine. The leaves, steeped in the urine of a youth who has not arrived at puberty, and beaten up with saltpetre, compose a liniment which, it is said, prevents wrinkles from forming on the abdomen in females. It is a general belief that partridges and cocks are rendered more pugnacious if this plant is mixed with their' food; and it is looked upon as particularly beneficial for cattle.

British Herbalist and Plant Collector, John Gerard, wrote in the 1500s:

A. These, as Dioscoridess and Galen do write, have all the faculties belonging to Adiantum, or Black Maidenhair.

B. The decoction made in wine and drunk, helpeth them that are short winded, it helpeth the cough, ripeneth tough phlegm, and avoideth it by spitting.

C. The lye wherein it hath been sodden, or laid to infuse, is good to wash the head, causing the scurf and scales to fall off, and hair to grow in places that are pilled and bare.

Maude Grieve gives us a good overview of the use of this fern in British herbal medicine, writing in A Modern Herbal, around 1930:

Several varieties of Maidenhair Fern are used in medicine, the most common being the present species, when grown in France, and the Canadian Adiantum pedatum.

Habitat---A. Capillus-veneris, called the True Maidenhair, is a dainty little evergreen fern found in the milder parts of the West of England - in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall - and in mild parts of the west of Ireland, growing in moist caves and on rocks near the sea, on damp walls and in wells.

Description---The rootstock is tufted and creeping. The fern grows in masses, the fronds, however, separating and arching apart, giving the appearance of a perfect miniature tree. The stems are slender, of a shining, brownish black, the fronds themselves usually twice or three times pinnate, 6 inches to a foot long, the delicate pinnules fan-shaped, indented and notched. The sori are conspicuous, occupying the extremities of most of the lobes of the pinnules, in oval spots on the inner surface of the indusium, which is formed of the reflexed edge of the pinnule. The pinnules are very smooth: 'in vain,' said Pliny, 'do you plunge the Adiantum into water, it always remains dry.'

Constituents---Tannin and mucilage. It has not been very fully investigated.

Medicinal Action and Uses---Has been used from ancient times medicinally, being mentioned by Dioscorides. Its chief use has been as a remedy in pectoral complaints. A pleasant syrup is made in France from its fronds and rhizomes, called Sirop de Capillaire, which is given as a favourite medicine in pulmonary catarrhs. It is flavoured with orange flowers and acts as a demulcent with slightly stimulating effects. Narbonne Honey is generally added to the syrup.

Culpepper tells us:

'This and all other Maiden Hairs is a good remedy for coughs, asthmas, pleurisy, etc., and on account of its being a gentle diuretic also in jaundice, gravel and other impurities of the kidneys. All the Maidenhairs should be used green and in conjunction with other ingredients because their virtues are weak.'

It also enters into the composition of Elixir de Garus. It is employed on the Continent as an emmenagogue under the names of polytrichi, polytrichon, or kalliphyllon, administered as a sweetened infusion of 1 OZ. to a pint of boiling water.

A. pedatum is a perennial fern of the United States and Canada, a little larger than the European variety, used in similar ways and more highly valued by many.

A. lunulatum of India is similarly employed.

A. trapeziforme of Mexico is more aromatic but less valuable medicinally.

A. radiatum and A. fragile of Jamaica and A. Æthiopicum of Ethiopia are both used in medicine.

The Botanalogia Universalis Hibernica was published in 17 35 and written by John K’eogh – it is our best representation of the tradition of Irish herbal medicine. John K’eogh wrote of the Irish tradition:

It helps cure asthma, coughs and shortness of breath. It is good against jaundice, diarrhea, spitting of blood and the bites of mad dogs. It also provokes urination and menstruation, and breaks up the stone in the bladder, spleen and kidneys.

Plants for A Future States:

The maidenhair fern has a long history of medicinal use and was the main ingredient of a popular cough syrup called "Capillaire", which remained in use until the nineteenth century. The plant is little used in modern herbalism. The fresh or dried leafy fronds are antidandruff, antitussive, astringent, demulcent, depurative, emetic, weakly emmenagogue, emollient, weakly expectorant, febrifuge, galactogogue, laxative, pectoral, refrigerant, stimulant, sudorific and tonic. A tea or syrup is used in the treatment of coughs, throat afflictions and bronchitis. It is also used as a detoxicant in alcoholism and to expel worms from the body. Externally, it is used as a poultice on snake bites, bee stings etc. In Nepal, a paste made from the fronds is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches and to the chest to relieve chest pains. The plant is best used fresh, though it can also be harvested in the summer and dried for later use.

Although we have found 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.

The Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants tells us:

In folk traditions, a handful of dried leaves are steeped to make a tea drink as an expectorant, astringent, and tonic for coughs, throat afflictions and bronchitis. Used as a hair wash for dandruff and to promote hair growth. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the leaves are similarly used for bronchial disease and as an expectorant. This fern has also been used as a worm expellent, an emetic, and as an agent to reduce fevers. Externally, it has been poulticed on snakebites, and used as a treatment for impetigo.

Amy Stewart includes this fern in her very interesting book, The Drunken Botanist, which is a history of plants used in alcoholic beverages. She tells us that Maidenhair fern was an ingredient in capillaire syrup, as Culpepper mentioned. Her recipe for capillaire syrup, as was once a more common ingredient in cocktails, is:

Several stems of fresh Maidenhair Fern

2 cups water

1 ounce orange flower water

1 and ½ cups sugar.

Bring water to a boil and pour it on the fern. Let stand for 30 minutes. Strain and add the orange flower water and sugar. Reheat, if necessary, to dissolve the sugar. It will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator or longer in the freezer.

This syrup could be used in any recipe that calls for simple syrup, but a historically accurate experiment could be conducted with the following recipe from Jerry Thomas’ famous 1862 manual, The Bartender’s Guide:

1 and ½ pints strong green tea

1 and ½ pints lemon juice

1 and ½ pints capilliare syrup

1 pint rum

1 pint brandy

1 pint arrack

1 pint curacao

1 bottle champagne

Slice of pineapple

Combine all the ingredients in a punch bowl…

Mrs. Stewart mentions that the lemon juice can be a bit overwhelming, and recommends sweeter citrus as an alternative. She explains that arrack is a spirit made from distilling the sap of coconut or palm. She also gives the standard warning about ferns, in similar fashion to Plants for A Future.

The Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine states:

Effects: The drug is expectorant, beneficial in bringing up phlegm, and a demulcent.

Unproven Uses: In the middle ages, the drug was used for various illnesses of the respiratory tract, in the form of so called pectoral teas and as a syrup for severe coughs. Because of its similarity to hair, the drug was used to treat a lack f hair growth and to promote dark hair color.

It is still taken as an infusion in Spain, Belgium and the Canary Islands to treat bronchitis, coughs and whooping cough, and also for painful and excessive menstruation.

Precautions and Adverse Reactions: No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.

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Disclaimer

The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.