Osmunda claytoniana
| Osmunda claytoniana | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Osmunda claytoniana (common name: interrupted fern)
Propagation: Spores - they very quickly lose their viability (within 3 days) and are best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil in a lightly shaded place in a greenhouse. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Plants develop very rapidly, pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid until they are well established. Do not plant outside until the ferns are at least 2 years old. Cultivars usually come true to type[1].
Division of the rootstock in the dormant season. This is a very strenuous exercise due to the mass of wiry roots[1].
Cultivation: Likes a soil of swamp mud and loamy or fibrous peat, sand and loam[2]. Succeeds in most moist soils, preferring acid conditions[1]. Requires a constant supply of water, doing well by ponds, streams etc[2]. Plants thrive in full sun so long as there is no shortage of moisture in the soil and also in shady situations beneath shrubs etc[1]. Requires a shady position[3].
Plants are hardy to at least -20°c, they are evergreen in warm winter areas but deciduous elsewhere[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[4].
A very ornamental plant[2].
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Himalayas. Eastern N. America.
Habitat: Wet places in C. Japan[5]. Open slopes, rarely in forests, 2800 - 3300 metres in Kashmir[6].
Edibility: The young fronds are eaten[7]. Cooked as a vegetable[8][9].
The centre of the clump, below ground level, is the source of a small edible pith called 'fern butter'[7].
Medicinal: The roots are used as an adulterant for Dryopteris felix-mas in the treatment of internal worms[10].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Known Hazards: Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable[1].
Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this e
Also Known As: O. interrupta.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.