Medicinal Monday - Spinulose Wood Fern

In the warm months, it seems that ferns grow prolifically. Spinulose woodfern is a bright green fern that grows in moist woodlands and is part of the Dryopteris family. It is a beautiful fern that has lacy fronds and grows in a classic vase shape. The leaves of this fern are more intricate than most ferns because of their complex structure and toothed margins. It can be found in Connecticut and is named because its leaves have tiny spines on their tips. Interestingly, this fern is native to both North America and Europe. It was used by many indigenous peoples although few records exist on exactly how this fern was used. 

About Dryopteris carthusiana 

This perennial fern is native to New England and the mid-West states of the United States. It has spread across Canada and can be found in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and as far north as Alaska. In the northern part of their range, they are deciduous and in the southern part of their range, they are evergreen.  It grows naturally in swamps and wet woods in clumps and tolerates both full and partial shade. It typically consists of 5 ascending oblong-shaped lanceolate toothed leaflets. The leaves are composed of multiple separate parts that are divided into leaflets. Basically, each frond has primary leaflets that are composed of secondary leaflets that are sometimes composed of a third series of leaflets, making these ferns tripinnate. An important identifying characteristic is that the bottom leaflets are usually longer than their second or third subleaflets.

The bottom of the leaflets has mounds of yellow-brown sori (spore-bearing structure) which is the reproductive area of this fern. Once they become dark and the membranes open, a black powder is released. The spores are usually released by the wind during late summer or fall. As the cold weather approaches, the leaves become less erect and tend to sprawl on the ground. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous.

Medicinal Uses 

Many Native Americans baked the roots of this fern in pits and pounded them to make a poultice to put on cuts and wounds. Some soaked the leaves and used them to wash their hair. Most commonly the root was used to treat internal parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms. In Alaska, many indigenous people roasted the stalks and ate the inner portion, they also boiled the young curled fronds. The Bella Coola ate the root as an antidote for poison from eating shellfish.

Did You Know

Another name for this fern is the Tootheed Wood Fern. 

The name of this fern, Dryopteris is from Greek, dryas, meaning oak, and pteris meaning fern because some of these ferns were found in woodland areas populated by oak trees. 

The Spinulose Wood Fern was identified in 1777 by Johann Fredrich Cartheuser, a physician and naturalist.

In the United Kingdom, this fern is known as narrow buckler fern.

White-tail deer and ruffled grouse sometimes eat their leaves in the winter when other food sources are scarce.