Description
Pteris multifida grows up to 45 cm tall. Rhizomes are erect, short, up to 1.5 cm wide, covered in dark brown scales. The fronds are dimorphic, differing in form between sterile and fertile fronds. Sterile fronds are once-pinnate, ovate-oblong in outline, 20 to 40 cm long and 15 to 20 cm wide. There are usually 3 pairs of pinnae which are linear in outline, 8 to 15 cm long and around 1 cm wide, with irregular teeth and sometimes a few lobes or pinnules themselves at the base. The pinnae extend down the petiole as wings. The frond is on a stalk (called a stipe) about 15 to 25 cm long and around 2 mm wide, hairless. Fertile fronds are similar, but have somewhat pairs of pinnae (about 4 to 6), and the pinnae are narrower and longer, about 10 to 15 cm long and 4 to 7 mm wide. As with other species of Pteris, the margins of fertile fronds are rolled downwards and contain the sori in a linear fashion (Wu et al. 2013).
Pteris multifida is similar to Pteris cretica, particularly when young. The easiest way to separate the two species is the rachis (the part of the petiole between pinnae): in this species, the upper pinnae extend down the rachis as a greenish “wing”, while in P. cretica it does not (Reifner and Smith 2016).
Uses
Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.
Pteris multifida is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant, where it grows on walls. It often escapes cultivation (Reifner and Smith 2016). The whole plant or rhizome is used in traditional Chinese medicine (Zhou et al. 2011); extracts of Pteris multifida include flavonoids with various properties such as antipyretic and anti-inflammation (Baskaran et al. 2018).
This species and Pteris vittata are hyperaccumulators of arsenic; when grown on polluted soils, the fronds can accumulate arsenic at concentrations of over 1000 mg per kg. They owe their tolerance of this toxin in large part to endosymbiotic bacteria, mostly Bacillus sp. (Zhu et al. 2013).
Distribution
Pteris multifida is commonly found on walls or limestone, at altitudes below 1000 m. It is native to eastern to southeastern Asia: in China and Taiwan south of Hebei province and east of Sichuan province, Japan including the Ryukyu Islands, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand (Wu et al. 2013). It is also cultivated worldwide, and has become naturalized in southern Asia from Singapore to Pakistan, South America, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Azores and Madeira, Uganda, Fiji, Germany, and the United States, from New York to Texas and California (Hassler 2022).
Status
References
Baskaran, X. R., Geo Vigila, A. V., Zhang S.-Z., Feng, S.-X., Liao, W.-B. 2018. A review of the use of pteridophytes for treating human ailments. <i>Journal of Zhejiang University-Science Bulletin</i>, 19: 85–119.<br><br>Hassler, M. 2022. World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. Version 14.6; last update 2022 December 27. [accessed 2023 Jan 2]. <a>www.worldplants.de/ferns/</a><br><br>Reifner, R. E., and Smith, A. R. 2016. <i>Pteris multifida</i> (Pteridaceae) Rediscovered in Southern California (U.S.A.), With a Key to Species and Notes on Escaped Cultivars. <i>Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas</i>, 10: 517–525.<br><br>Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. <i>Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae)</i>. Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.<br><br>Zhou, J., Xie, G., and Yan, X. 2011. <i>Encyclopedia of traditional Chinese medicines - molecular structures, pharmacological activities, natural sources and applications. Vol. 5, Isolated compounds T-Z.</i> Berlin: Springer.<br><br>Zhu, L.-J., Guan, D.-X., Luo, J., Rathinasabapathi, B., Ma, L. Q. 2014. Characterization of arsenic-resistant endophytic bacteria from hyperaccumulators <i>Pteris vittata</i> and <i>Pteris multifida</i>. Chemosphere, 113: 9–16.
