Tectaria latifolia
(G. Forst.) Copel
TectariaceaeLeaves
wikimedia · cc-by
Wikimedia Commons - Brownlie, Garth
Wikimedia Commons - Brownlie, Garth
wikimedia · cc-by
Wikimedia Commons - David Glenny
Wikimedia Commons - David Glenny
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Fronds
The young fronds are eaten as a traditional food.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in open forest and on well-drained slopes.
Fiji, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Polynesia, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna,
Countries: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Micronesia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Palau, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa
How to Identify
A tropical fern growing to about 1.5 meters tall, found in open forests and on well-drained slopes.
Notes
An unresolved name in The Plant List.
Names & Synonyms
Oto loa, Wata loa
Aspidium forsteri KunzeAspidium irregulare (Bak.) Brack.Aspidium latifolium (G.Forst.) J.Sm.Drynaria latifolia (G.Forst.) FéeDryopteris latifolia (G.Forst.) O.KuntzeNephrodium irregulare Bak.Phymatodes latifolia (G.Forst.) PreslPleopeltis latifolia (G.Forst.) MoorePolypodium latifolium G.Forst.Sagenia hippocrepis Brack.Sagenia latifolia (G.Forst.) Carr.Tectaria braithwaitei Holtt.
References (4)
- Etoh, T. & Sundaresan, 1985, Food Plants in Fiji and Their Utilization. Kagoshima Univ. Res. Center S. Pac, Occasional Papers, No. 5. p. 145-164. (As Tectaria decurrens)
- Franklin, J., Keppel, G., & Whistler, W., 2008, The vegetation and flora of Lakeba, Nayau and Aiwa Islands, Central Lau Group, Fiji. Micronesica 40(1/2): 169–225 , 2008
- Jansen, A. A. J., et al, (Eds), 1990, Food and Nutrition in Fiji. Volume One. p 53
- Thaman, R. R., 1992, Batiri Kei Baravi: The Ethnobotany of Pacific Island Coastal Plants. Atoll Research Bulletin. No. 361.
