|
Adiantum flabellulatum L.
|
English Name |
Fan-leaved Maidenhair, |
|
Latin name |
Adiantum flabellulatum L. |
|
Family & Genus |
Adiantaceae, Adiantum |
|
Description |
Herbs, 20-50cm tall. Stem short, nearly erect, densely brown, shiny linear- lanceolate scales. Leaves clustered; petioles 10-25cm long, light purple-black. Base with few hairs, slightly glossy as it goes upwards; leaves nearly leathery, sessile, rachis and pinna rachis covered with densely red-brown short seta, glabrous below, fan-shaped to untidy wide-ovate, 15-20cm long, 8-22cm wide, bisymmetrical to trisymmetrical pedate binary branches; usually central pinnae larger, linear- lanceolate, 10-15cm long, ca. 2cm wide, apex blunt; small pinnae 8-15 pairs, alternate, expended, with short stalk, rhombic-elliptic to fan-shaped, ca. 1cm long, ca. 1.5cm wide. Opposed, upper margin and external margin round, with thin serration, lower margin right-angled, base wide cuneate; veins fan-shaped bifurcated, extends to leaf's margin, prominent on both sides. Sori elliptic, dorsiferous at small veins apex of the upper and lower margin of small pinnae, each small pinnae with 2-8; indusium elliptic, black-brown, membranous, entire. |
|
Distribution |
Growing in thin forests at altitude 100-1,200m, slope roads nearby or tussock. Distributed in Southwest China, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and etc. |
|
Part Used |
Medical part: whole plant or roots. Chinese name: Guotanlong. |
|
Harvest & Processing |
Harvested throughout the year, well washed, used fresh or sundried. |
|
Chemistry |
Whole plant contains flavonoid glycosides, phenols, organic acids, amino acids and saccharides, etc. |
|
Properties & Actions |
Bitter, pungent, cool.Clearing heat and dampness and detoxifying. |
|
Indications & Usage |
Influenza and pyrexia, diarrhea, dysentery, jaundice, stranguria caused by urinary stones, anthracia, scrofula, bites by snakes and insects, swelling and pain caused by falls.Oral administration: decocting, 15-30g; fresh products: doubled in amount; or smashed to extract juice. External application: appropriate amount, powdered for applying or infused with water or wine. |
|
Examples |
1. Infantile high fever and convulsion: fresh leaves of guotanlong 15-30g, mash into paste, add cold boiled water and swallow.
2. Scalding: (guotanlong) whole herb (an appropriate amount), mix with tung oil and mash into paste, smear onto the lesions. |
|
