Diplazium esculentum, the vegetable fern, is an edible fern found throughout Asia and Oceania. It is probably one of the most commonly consumed ferns.[1]
This plant is a large perennial fern with an ascending rhizome of about 50cm high and covered with short rufous scales of about 1mm long. The plant is bipinnate with long brownish petioles, and the petiole base is black and covered with short scales. The frond can reach 1.5m in length, and the pinnae is about 8cm long and 2cm wide.[5]
Uses
The young fronds are stir-fried and used in salads.[6][7]
They may have mild amounts of fern toxins but no major toxic effects are recorded.[8]
It is known as pakô ("wing") in the Philippines,[6]pucuk paku and paku tanjung in Malaysia, sayurpaku or pakis in Indonesia, phak koot (Thai: ผักกูด) in Thailand, rau dớn in Vietnam, dhekia (Assamese: ঢেকীয়া) in Assam, Dhenki Shaak (Bengali: ঢেঁকি শাক) in Bengali, paloi saag (Sylheti: পালই শাগ) in Sylheti, ningro in Nepali, dingkia in Boro and linguda in northern India, referring to the curled fronds.
It is known as pohole or hō'i'o in Hawaiian cuisine.
The ferns grow in wet areas of shady valleys.[9][10] The fern species Diplazium esculentum is believed to have been introduced and naturalized in Hawaii and was first reported collected in 1910.[10] The fern also has medicinal uses.[11]
^Anonymous. "Vegetable fern"(PDF). Use and production of D. esculentum. AVRDC (The World Vegetable Center). Archived from the original(PDF) on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
^Gangwar Neeraj Kumar (2004). "Studies on pathological effects of linguda (Diplazium esculentum, Retz.) in laboratory rats and guinea pigs". Indian Journal of Veterinary Pathology. 28 (2).
^N_ Kua'_ina: Living Hawaiian Culture by Davianna McGrego pages 110, 133
^ ab[1] Hawai_i's Ferns and Fern Allies by Daniel Dooley Palmer page 125