posted 14 years ago
The sweet rhizome of the Polypodia, distributed globally, has been a documented medic's herbal ally since Grecian times when it was noted as remedy for constipation, congestion, and coughs. Unlike many of the hebalist's friends, the Polypods have maintained a strong and positive relation to turbulent Westerm medical sciences through the ages, even during the stiff and sterile western traditions last 400+ years of Baconian science. The Elizibethan poet Michael Drayton celebrated the "rhuem purging polypod." The dried powder is a known expellant of tapeworms and other worms (animal husbandmen take note!) and has been used externally as a liniment.
Often found clinging to mossy trees, herbalist lore suggests that the fern takes on some of the host trees character. Even through the 18c, "polypod of oak" was considered in European medicine to be the mightiest source of the much valued fern. The spores were also considered special- they were thought by some to be a key ingredient in making invisibility potions and salves.
more at: http://www.abundancepermaculture.com/blog/?p=199
