MEDICINAL PLANTS in Folk Tradition

  Pteridophytes and Conifers 63

DRYOPTERIDACEAE

Dryopteris filix-mas (Linnaeus) Schott, in the broad sense
male-fern
Europe, temperate Asia, North America
Because male-fern (in the old aggregate sense) was recommended as a vermi-
fuge by all the leading Classical writers, it is hard to be sure of the genuineness
of its place in the folk repertory as the cure for tapeworm par excellence.It is

Dryopteris filix-mas,

male-fern (Fuchs

1543, fig. 338)