Forest shield body structure, characteristics, parts

Description of Forest Shield:

Dryopteris filix mas -Aspidium Filix mas Swartz (Archaic or other familiar names: mange-grass, worm-grass, dandelion, devil’s-rib root, kidney-wort, fern) Ferns – Polypodiaceae Wood fern is a perennial plant. Its stems, or capitula, grow horizontally or obliquely below ground, reaching a length of 30 cm and a thickness of 2-5 cm. Its surface is densely covered with brown, withered remnants of the previous year’s leaves, which greatly increase its spread. If the withered leaf remnants are removed, the capital is 1,5 cm thick, but it is also densely covered with small, light brown scales, and it produces hard, brown, fibrous roots. On the capitulum are the long-tongued leaves arranged in a twisted pattern. The end of the young leaf is curved in the direction of the whorl, and the surface is densely covered with tiny scales.

The older leaves can grow up to 1 metre long. The entire leaf circumference is lanceolate. Its leaf is bilobed, that is, the main rib has bilobed winged cleft cymes. On the backbone of the fully developed leaf, to the right and left of the main vein of each cymes, two rows of fruit clusters contain, under a fine membrane, tiny tomentose sheaths which can only be seen with a magnifying glass. A fine powder, a mass of spores, is formed inside them. When ripe, the fern leaf is therefore porous. This brown dust – the spores – is used by the fern to reproduce, germinate and produce new growth. The male fern is a flowerless or sporeless plant, producing no flowers or seeds. (Sporulation period: July – September) Green all summer, clusters of fruits are visible on the leaf bracts from August to November. The excavated capitulum is brown outside and green inside. It is often planted as an ornamental in gardens. The plant is a perennial, the leaves that have withered in autumn reappear in spring and after hibernation the plant picks up almost where it left off.

One of the purposes of your plant’s life is to reproduce. The pollen finds its way to the pistil, from there to the flower head in the seed coat, which forms the seed, which falls to the ground and from it the new plant develops. This most advanced form of reproduction is found in flowering plants. Among the plants, the rudimentary, low-developed ones are the haras and ferns. This also includes the forest shield. Lower developed are the algae, fungi, lichens and mosses, on which no flowers are seen. Reproduction, except in the case of mosses, is by division, possibly by spores, but not by fusion of male and female cells, fertilisation. The forest shield is often confused with other fern species like it, especially the lady’s moth (Athyrium filix femina). The important difference between the two is seen when the petiole is cut crosswise, with 2 small dots (vascular rays) on the cut surface of the lady’s moth and 5-9 small dots (vascular rays) on the cut surface of the wood shield. It is similar in structure to the sweet-root fern (Polypodium vulgare – fern family), which is also found in shady mountain forests, as is the gymnosperm fern (Scolopendrium vulgare/Asplenium scolopendrium – medical deer tongue). Light requirements: it grows well in partial shade and under filtered light under trees (as in woodland), and can be planted in sunny places if it has adequate soil moisture. Water demand: in dry areas with medium water requirements, foliar spraying is recommended. Soil Requirement: humus, loose, good permeability, rich in nutrients. Heat requirements: winter-hardy, frost-tolerant.

Occurrence of forest shield:

Manly fern grows throughout the mountains of our country, in wooded and bushy places in the mountains, in shady places of damp, forest pines. It is found mostly on the banks of forest streams and often in rocky crevices. Its native habitat is Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, but it is found in shady places in the northern hemisphere on stony ground.

Uses and medicinal properties:

The capital of the male fern is sold under the name rhizoma filicis(radix filicis maris). Its bark is (formerly) the best remedy against tapeworms and other intestinal worms. It is used to make fern extract(extractum filicis). Its wormicidal action is attributed to fern acid and fern – tannic acid. Freshly dried fern leaves have a sweet, pungent-tart taste and, when cut in two, a distinctive smell. Consumption prohibited, toxic! Do not use externally on pregnant women! In medicine, a semi-concentrated extract(phylloquin) made with ether has been used as a medicinal decree. When applied, no poisoning could occur if the doctor’s instructions were followed exactly, but the intestinal worm was paralysed by the toxic effect. When the active substances would be absorbed in the human body, they would leave the body together with the worms due to the laxative administered. The healing properties of the plant were known to the Greeks and Romans and have been used for centuries against parasites. It was also used in the past as a bathing agent against varicose veins and rheumatism. (Fresh pumpkin seeds are a completely harmless, well-tried home remedy. But here again, some preparation is necessary to achieve the effect. A laxative is taken the day before use to remove the contents of the intestine. Intestinal worms are stubbornly persistent, clinging to the intestinal wall. Eating salty, spicy, oniony foods for a day after the laxative is given makes life unpleasant for the intestinal worms. Onion and salt fish is best. On the morning of the day after the diet, 10-15 grams of pumpkin seeds should be eaten on an empty stomach, and then another laxative taken 2 hours later. It is essential that the worm’s head is also eliminated in the stool, otherwise it will start to grow again.) Ingestion:

Manly fern can be harvested from July to September. The leaves and roots are cut off the dug up vines, the scales covering the surface are peeled off and then carefully dried. When drying, care must be taken to ensure that the fern stem retains its inner green colour, as this is a sign of its usefulness If you cut the fern in two, the inner tissue should be green, but if it is brown, it is worthless. To dry it, spread it on a tarpaulin or in the sun or in a ventilated attic to dry quickly. When completely dry, the fern flowers can be bagged. Since ferns cannot be kept for more than a year without losing their effect, they must be renewed every year. Despite this, however, the quantity of ferns available for sale in our country was limited, with 3,5 kg of fresh fern being sold as 1 kg of dried fern.

The active ingredient is:

A fatty oil which, when melted, changes its green colour to a brownish red. Volatile fatty acids, volatile oil, resin, fern tannins, phillic acid, cane sugar, starch, floruglocin derivatives, tannins and tannic acid. Its active ingredients are toxic organic compounds with a complex structure, do not use without water, do not apply without fertilizer Death is caused by paralysis of the respiratory centre.

Processing and marketing:

The rootstock is marketed in whole pieces in the purified state described above. It has been used extensively in both human and veterinary medicine and an extract of it has been prepared with ether, called extr. filicis maris.

Propagation:

Possible by root-stem division, it requires space, take this into account when planting, it does not like windy places. In principle, it can be planted at any time, but autumn planting is recommended.

Care:

Watering is necessary in dry periods, no other care is required.

Protected species:

Spiny shielding (dryopteris carthusiana) – estimated value 5.000 Ft Wide shields (dryopteris dilatata) – esme value 5.000 Ft Mountain shield (dryopteris expansa) – intrinsic value 5.000 Ft Flaky shield (dryopteris affinis) – intrinsic value 10.000 Ft Barnacle shield (dryopteris cristata) – highly protected species, intrinsic value 100.000 Ft

Taxonomic classification of the wood shield:

Trunk: Harlequin Class: True ferns Order: Sweet-root ferns Family: Shield-leaved ferns Nationality: Dryopteris Race: D. filix-mas Occurrence Medicinal properties Active ingredient Propagation Source: Dr. Ede Kolos – Edit Kolosné Pethes, Our native herbs Páter Béla Páter, The wild medicinal plants Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic medicinal plants, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses Rápóti-Romváry: Medicinal plants, Medicina Könyvkiadó Rt, Budapest, 1999, ISBN 963 242 594 30