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Diplazium esculentum
Woodsiaceae FAMILY

Diplazium esculentum

Diplazium esculentum

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable[1]. 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[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Fern
Growth—

Diplazium esculentum is a plant of the humid tropics[3]. Grows best when there is an abundance of organic matter in the soil[1].

Propagation

Spores - they germinate readily and develop quickly[1]. Division of plantlets that are produced at the roots[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Diplazium+esculentum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. — Schofield. J. J. · Alaska Northwest Books; Alaska · 2003 · ISBN 0882403699 ↩︎A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
  3. [3]Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java — Hari Priyadi et al · Center for International Forestry Research; Indonesia. · 2010 · http://www.cifor.cgiar.org · ISBN 978-602-8693-22-6 ↩︎Brief details of the uses of 500 Indonesian plants. It is available as a PDF document to download from the internet.
  4. [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  5. [5]Ferns and Man in New Guinea — Croft. J. · 1982 · http://www.anbg.gov.au/fern/ferns-man-ng.html ↩︎Based on a paper presented to Papua New Guinea Botany Society in 1982, gives a brief guide to the uses of 42 species of fern in New Guinea. Published on the internet.
  6. [6]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  7. [7]Fern Databank, Sahah. — http://www.forest.sabah.gov.my ↩︎Information on the ferns growing at Sabah in Indonesia. A description, habitat and plant uses are givem, often accompanied by a photo.
  8. [8]Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Botany Vol. 2 — The British Museum; London. · 1955 - 1962 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A series of articles on botany. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.