Plants and Food
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Adiantum spp. 'Iwa'iwa
PLANT NAME: Adiantum spp.
COMMON NAMES: 'Iwa'iwa [Hawai’i]; maidenhair fern, lady fern [USA]; culantrillo [Amazonia]; culantrillo de piedra [Panama]; avenca [Brazil].
FAMILY: Pteridaceae.
CATEGORY: Cool herbs that transform hot phlegm ~.
PROPERTIES: Cool to cold ~.
PLANT PART USED: Fronds, leaves and rhizomes.
TOXICITY: Although there are no reports of toxicity of Adiantum ferns, many ferns have a substance called thiaminase that can rob the body of B vitamins, so caution is advised. Thiaminase is destroyed by cooking or drying the plant.
CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS: Not in pregnancy. Use with caution and monitor blood sugar levels in diabetes. See Possible Drug Interactions below.
STATUS IN HAWAI'I: Adiantum capillus-veneris is indigenous.
MERIDIAN AFFINITIES: Lung, liver, kidney.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE ENERGETIC FUNCTIONS (~ = extrapolated):
1) Clears heat and transforms phlegm~.
2) Opens the chest~.
3) Resolves damp heat ~.
PREPARATION OF MEDICINE: Decocted, infused or used in syrup.
DOSAGE: 3 - 10 grams steeped.
PSYCHOSPIRITUAL
• Smoked or infused for insanity [Navaho].
REPRODUCTIVE
• General menstrual problems [Costanoan, Iroquois, Menominee, Potawatomi, Universal, USA]; abnormal uterine bleeding [Kickapoo-Mexico]; excess menstrual flow [Europe]; menstrual discomfort, late menses [Europe, India, Mexico, Spain, USA].
• Genital warts [Mexico].
• "Morning-after" tea [Kickapoo - Mexico].
• Childbirth [Spain].
RESPIRATORY
"It helps cure asthma, coughs, and shortness of breath. It is good against jaundice, diarrhea, spitting of blood and the biting of mad dogs. It also provokes urination and menstruation and breaks up stone in the bladder, spleen, and kidneys."
- - 'K'Eogh, 18th century herbalist.
• General respiratory problems [Brazil, Cherokee, USA]; bronchitis, pertussis, cough with sticky phlegm, excess mucous, coughing blood [Amazonia, Brazil, Egypt, Europe, India, Iraq, Lesotho. Mexico, Native American, Turkey, USA, Venezuela]; pleurisy [Eclectics].
• Asthma [Brazil, Egypt, Native American];
• Chronic nasal congestion [Native American];
• Common cold [Amazonia, China, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, India, Lesotho, USA]; chills [Native American]; influenza, sore throat [Native American].
USE AS FOOD: Used as a garnish on sweet dishes (fronds). Also made into a thick syrup using sugar and orange water.
OTHER USES: Maidenhair stems are used in basket designs in Karok.
HABITAT: Likes it wet, cool, an’ shady.
GATHERING: Hawai'i year round. Gathered in June in Europe.
RESEARCH: An extraction of A. ceneatum is anti-inflammatory in mice and a stronger analgesic than aspirin or acetaminophen [Bresciani 2003].
NOTES 'N QUOTES
"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."
- - Nicholas Culpepper
• Maidenhair has been used since the time of Dioscorides and Pliny (Caius Plinius Secundus, A.D. 23-79)
• In France, Maidenhair fern was once made into "syrup de capillaire" and used for lung problems.
Bresciani 2003; Palmer 2003;Wagner 1999.
http: / / ars-genome.cornell.edu
http: / / www.ijp-online.com / archives / 1985 / 017 / 01 / r0073-0076le.pdf
http: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / entrez / query.fcgi?db=PubMed
http: / / www.rain-tree.com / avenca.htm
http: / / www.swsbm.com / AJP / AJP_1883_No_1.pdf.
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Much of this information is through the grace oand kindness of my
Hawaiian and Chinese teachers and my gratitude goes out to
them. Any errors are mine alone.
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