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Diplazium esculentum - Vegetable fern
Vegetable fern (Diplazium esculentum) is an edible fern found throughout Asia and Oceania. It is probably the most commonly consumed fern.[1] It is known as pucuk paku in Malaysia, pakô in the Philippines, dhekia (ঢেকীয়া) in Assam "Dhenkir Shaak (ঢেঁকির শাক) in Bengali, and linguda in northern India, referring to the curled fronds. In Thailand it is known as phak khut (Thai: ผักกูด). They may have mild amounts of fern toxins but no major toxic effects are recorded.
Description
This plant is a large perennial fern with ascending rhizome of about 20 cm high and covered with short rufous scales of about 1 cm long. The plant is bipinnate with long brownish petioles, and the petiole base is black and covered with short scales. The frond can reach 1.5 cm in length, and the pinnae is about 8 cm long and 2 cm wide.
Uses
- The young fronds are stir-fried as a "vegetable" or used in salads.
- In Hawaii it is used to make pohole.
- A decoction of the leaves is used as a tonic for women after they have given birth.
