Food Plants International

163
Names
English: Flowering fern Scientific name: Helminthostachys zeylanica (L.)Hook.
Tok pisin: Synonyms: Osmunda zeylanica L.;
Tok ples: Plant family: Ophioglossaceae
Description: An erect fern with short creeping
underground stout rhizomes. The plant is up to 60 cm
high. They bear solitary or sometimes several fronds.
The stalk of the leaf frond is up to 25-35 cm long and
12-20 cm wide. At the tip it has 3 segments of the
sterile frond. The fertile part is like a spike and comes
from the stalk. The spores are yellow in brown spore
bodies which are 0.8 mm across.
Distribution: A tropical fern. They grow in shady sites
in the forest. They are found throughout the
Philippines in open bushy places near sea level and on
damp ground.
Cultivation: Plants are grown by splitting the rhizomes.
Production:
Use: The young fronds of this fern are eaten raw as a salad or cooked as a vegetable.
Food Value: Per 100 g edible portion
Edible Moisture Energy Protein
part
Leaves
% KJ g
Insects:
Diseases:
Pests:
Importance:
Calcium
mg
Iron
mg
proVit A
µg
proVit C
mg
Zinc
mg