Asplenium trichomanes
| Asplenium trichomanes | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Asplenium trichomanes (common name: maidenhair spleenwort)
Propagation: Spores - best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. The spores usually germinate in the spring[1]. Spring sown spores germinate in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[2]. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse. Keep the plants humid until they are well established. Once the plants are 15cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring.
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained position and lots of old mortar rubble in the soil[1]. Requires a humid atmosphere and some shade[3][4]. A good plant for growing on a shady part of an old dry-stone or brick wall[K].
Plants are hardy to about -30°c[5].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[6].
Range: Most temperate regions of the world, including Britain, mountains in the Tropics.
Habitat: Walls and crevices of mainly basic rocks[7].
Edibility: The dried fronds have been used as a tea substitute[8].
Medicinal: A tea made from the fronds is sweet, demulcent, expectorant and laxative[8][9]. It has been used in the treatment of chest complaints[8] and to promote menstruation[10].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Mid Fall
Known Hazards: Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable[5].
Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this e
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Knight, F. P.. Plants for Shade. Royal Horticultural Society, 1980.
- ↑ Brown, George. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.