Phlebodium aureum — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Some part of the plant is added to teswino beer.

Known Hazards

Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase.

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant. In Argentina it grows below 200 m above sea level.

Africa, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Canary Is., Central America, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Marshall Islands, Micronesia, North America, Pacific, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South America*, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, USA, Venezuela, Winward. Is.,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Botswana, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Grenada, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vanuatu, Samoa, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A subtropical fern in the Polypodiaceae family, native to regions including Argentina where it grows below 200 m above sea level.

Medicinal Uses

Some part of the plant is added to teswino beer.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Phlebodium aureum (golden polypody, golden serpent fern, cabbage palm fern, gold-foot fern, blue-star fern, hare-foot fern; syn. Polypodium aureum, Polypodium leucotomos) is an epiphytic fern native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.

Names & Synonyms

Canahuala, Helecho, Mamdaoami, Palmita, Polipodio

Chrysopteris aurea (L.) LinkPleopeltis aurea (L.) C. Presl.Polypodium aureum L.and others

References (3)

Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 676 (As Polypodium aureum)
Kew Plants of the World Online
Vander Velde, N, 2003, The Vascular Plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Atoll research Bulletin. No. 503. Smithsonian Institute.