Roaming Roots

Sword fern, fishbone fern, herringbone fern, tuberous sword fern, tuber ladder fern, erect sword fern, narrow sword fern, ladder fern

Evergreen fern native to the tropics of north-eastern Australia and Asia to the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. Introduced to the United States, it is now listed as an invasive species in Florida, as it competes with the native Boston fern, Nephrolepis exaltata

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Scaly stems from which pinnate fronds grow up to 3 feet long and 3 inches wide. Each frond can have up to 100 lanceolate shaped leaflets and the underside spore packets are kidney-shaped.

The fern can be either terrestial or epiphytic. Fleshy, egg-shaped tubers, or stolons, grow off of the rhizomes and store water for the plant. It is these round, scaly, and somewhat hairy tubers that differentiate it from native ferns.

According to Green Dean, the nutritional breakdown of the stolons are:

Water	96%
Fiber	14.88%
Carbohydrates	13.42%
Ash	6.53%
Protein	1.34%
Starch	1.25%
Calcium	0.75%
Phosphorus	Trace

TRADITIONAL USES

This fern has been used in Ayurvedic medicine as a diuretic, a contraceptive, and a treatment for liver issues. Phytochemical analysis has found the plant exhibits antibacterial, antifungal, anti-cancer, and hepatoprotective activities.

People in Nepal eat the fresh roasted tubers.

They can range in color from cream to yellow to dark tan or brown. To me they taste similar Jerusalem Artichokes with the same crunch, a varying amount of astringency, water and potato-like earthy aroma.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: I first washed them thoroughly. Then I peeled the hairy, fibrous skin off (a little tedious). Then I tried them raw and roasted.

Eaten raw, they reminded me of a water chestnut. Others say they taste like a Jerusalem artichoke, but I’ve yet to try those.

Unfortunately, the roasted ones ended up slightly bitter, not sweet and chewy, as promised.

Nevertheless, a fun, nutritious snack from a problem plant in Florida.

This will be my last post on foraging in Florida as we have moved back to Wisconsin.

References

_{Green Dean. (n.d.). Sword Fern’s Secret. Eat the Weeds. https://www.eattheweeds.com/nephrolepis-cordifolia-edible-watery-tubers-2/#:~:text=There%20is%20probably%20a%20pot,has%20stolonss%2C%20it%20is%20edible.}

_{Mary, F.J., Kumar, M.S., Leevavathi, A., Lokesh, M., Mahalakshmi, M., Masoor ahmed, M.B. & Meganathan, A. (2021, October). Nephrolepis cordifolia: A Review on the fern. Journal of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 23(10) , 301-305. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://jusst.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Nephrolepis-cordifolia-A-Review-on-the-fern.pdf}

_{Nephrolepis cordifolia. (January 5, 2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephrolepis_cordifolia#:~:text=Nephrolepis%20cordifolia%20is%20a%20fern,ladder%20fern%2C%20and%20herringbone%20fern.}

_{University of Florida. (n.d.). Nephrolepis cordifolia (Sword fern). https://botany.biology.ufl.edu/news/2013/nephrolepis-cordifolia-sword-fern/}