Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Nephrolepis cordifolia

Edible: Roots, Tubers, Fronds, Leaves, Tea

A fern. It can grow in the soil or attached to other plants. It keeps growing from year to year and forms large colonies. It grows about 30-120 cm high. The roots often bear tubers. These can be 1 cm long. The stalk of the fern frond is stiff and brown and often is slightly scaly. It is 10-30 cm long. The fronds are narrow and divided into leaflets along the stalk. The fronds are 30-120 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. The leaflets are many and do not have a leaf stalk. The leaflets are 1-3.5 cm long by 0.4-1 cm wide. There are blunt teeth along the edge. The bases overlap. The spore bodies are kidney shaped. They are close to the leaf edge. It produces fleshy tubers along the runners.

It grows in tropical and subtropical places. In Nepal it grows between 500-2400 m altitude. It will grow in dark places and dry atmosphere. It can tolerate frost. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Common Names: Bagan fern, Boston fern, Feng huang, Hidum uli, Ladder fern, Narrow sword fern, Pakis umbi pedang, Pani amala, Pani saro, Qiu jue, Rasmada, Shusni shak, Sword fern, Ta-wai

Synonyms: 

Polypodium cordifolium L.;
Aspidium cordifolium (L.)Sw.;
Aspidium tuberosum Bory ex Willd.;
Nephrolepis tuberosa (Bory ex Willd.)C. Presl.;
and others