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Woodwardia unigemmata
(Makino) Nakai
Jeweled Chain Fern
Blechnaceae
Woodwardia unigemmata is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is native to East to South Asia, and is sometimes used medicinally or as a food source.
Description
Woodwardia unigemmata spreads by rhizomes; the rhizomes are stout, up to 3 cm in diameter, and dark brown. They are densely covered with brown scales that are 2.2 to 2.7 cm long, lanceolate, with smooth margins, and a long tip. The stipes are 30 to 100 cm long, 5 to 8 mm in diameter, with scales mostly at the base of the leaf. The lamina is leathery and pinnate-pinnatifid, elliptic or between ovate and lanceolate, 300 to 100 cm long and 20 to 60 cm wide. There are 7 to 15 pairs of pinnae, which are broadly lanceolate and sometimes stalked. Middle pinnae are 15 to 35 cm long and 4 to 12 cm wide, with a rounded to truncate base and a long, tail-like tip. Pinnae have 14 to 20 pairs of deep lobes that are themselves oblong-lanceolate, asymmetrical, 1 to 6 cm long and 0.8 to 1.2 cm wide. They are finely toothed with long sharp teeth. Leaves also produce scaly bulbils near the tip of the leaves. Sori are long, found on the lower side of the fronds, near the middle of the pinnae and located between veins; indusia are dark brown and membranous (Wu et al. 2013).
Similar species include Woodwardia prolifera and Woodwardia orientalis, but both species lack bulbils on the main rachis (although they may have them on the leaf surface) (Wu et al. 2013; Ohwi et al. 1965).
Similar species include Woodwardia prolifera and Woodwardia orientalis, but both species lack bulbils on the main rachis (although they may have them on the leaf surface) (Wu et al. 2013; Ohwi et al. 1965).
Uses
Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.
Woodwardia unigemmata has edible starchy rhizomes, which are used in cakes, noodles, and liquor. The rhizomes are used to treat a wide variety of illnesses (Thangaraj 2018). The plant can also be grown as an ornamental. It prefers moist soil and partial shade, and is hardy in USDA zones 8 to 10 (HFF 2019).
Distribution
Woodwardia unigemmata is found in shrubs in forests or by roadsides, at an altitude of 400 to 3000 m. It is native to southern China and Taiwan, Japan, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam (Wu et al. 2013).
Status
References
HFF (Hardy Fern Foundation). 2019. Woodwardia unigemmata. Hardy Fern Foundation. [accessed 2019 Aug 19]. https://hardyferns.org/ferns/woodwardia-unigemmata/
Ohwi, J,, Meyer, F. G., Walker E, H. 1965. Flora of Japan. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Thangaraj, P. 2018. Medicinal Plants: Promising Future for Health and New Drugs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Ohwi, J,, Meyer, F. G., Walker E, H. 1965. Flora of Japan. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Thangaraj, P. 2018. Medicinal Plants: Promising Future for Health and New Drugs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Description
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