570

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

Nephro'dium Fi'Ux mas, Richard (Aspidium Filix mas , L. E. D .)—Male

Shield Fern.

Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia, Filices.

(Aspidium : radix, Ph. Lond.-, radix, Ph . Dubl Aspidii Filicis maris radix, Ph. Ed.)

History. —This plant was known to Theophrastus , Dioscorides , andPliny . The two first call it urtptg, the latter Filix mas.

Botany ’. Gen. Char. — Sori roundish, scattered. Indusium orbi-culari-reniform, fixed by the sinus.

Sp. Char. —Fronds bipinnate, pinnules oblong, obtuse serrated, theirstalks and midrib chatty. Sori near the central nerve {Hooker).

Fig. 83.

Nephrodium Filix mas.

A. Pinnule with nine sori (a).

B. Magnified portion of pinnule with the

sporangia, a. Stomata, b. b. Spo-rangia partially covered by c. theindusium.

C. Magnified sporangium, a. Stall*'

b. Ring. c. Membranous sac.

D. Ruptured sporangium, with the sp®'

rules escaping.

The rhizome is large, tufted, and scaly,to a height of 3 or 4 feet.

The leaves grow in a cird e

JIab .— It is an indigenous plant, frequent in woods and on sh~- ..

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shad)'

xo cm j.ihj.i£gaiuu.o jjiaiiA; iicLjuciii, in vvUUUS tliiu U 11

banks. It is a native of other parts of Europe , of Asia , of the North Africa , and of the United States of America . ^

Description.' —The subterraneous stem {rhizoma; caudex ; fern V° 0 ^radix filicis, officin.) lies obliquely in the ground. It varies in l en ^ 0and breadth according to its age. For medicinal purposes it should

■fVnm iVirno +r\ civ av wyawa inoVvAo !«««. a «»-1 1—IP -1- itlC

from three to six or more inches long, and from half an inch to an i*--,

__1,__ ji Ti • _ i _ _ ■% * i i i , .i . i

k. Vi luvrv UlOiiCO IVUg) U 11 U liUlll uail till 111U11 t' J •*** J

or more broad. It is almost completely enveloped by the thicket 1 ®bases of the footstalks of the fallen leaves. These bases (sometu 11 'called tubercles) are arranged closely around the rhizome in an obhttdirection, overlapping each other. They are one or two inches 1° °from three to five lines thick, curved, angular, brown, surrounded *their origin from the rhizome by two or lpore shining, reddish y eil nthin, silky scales (ramenta). The radicle fibres (root, properly so catarise from the rhizome between these footstalks. The fern root otshops consists of fragments of the dried thickened bases of the footstto which small portions of the rhizome are found adhering, and ofroot fibres. w,

Internally, the rhizome and footstalks are, in the recent state, »e ^"of a light yellowish-green colour; but in the dried state, yellow 1 *reddish white. Iodine colours the fresh rhizome bluish black, iudica

ti,

5

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