THE USES OF FERNS. 
37 
and Gleichenia Hermanni ; and it is worth remark that 
these species represent almost all the principal groups in 
which Ferns are classified. 
The Hindoos, according to Dr. Hooker, boil the tops of 
a kind of Polypodium with their shrimp-curries. The 
watery tubers of Nephrolepis tuberosa are eaten in Nepaul, 
where also the Botrychium mrginicum is boiled and eaten. 
The pith of the stem is the part used in the Cyathea 
medullaris, and other tree-ferns. This pith is a coarse 
kind of sago. The rootstock, or rhizome, of the Pteris 
esculenta, is the part used in Australia, New Zealand, and 
the South Sea Islands. This consists principally of starch, 
with some astringent matter. 
While the child of nature turns to the Fern for food, 
his more civilized brother seeks in it a medicine ; and he 
finds it! Two of our common native species, the Filix- 
mas and the Bracken—especially the former—have the 
reputation of being remedies against intestinal worms, in 
consequence of their bitter and astringent qualities, which 
properties are possessed by the stems of many other species. 
Another native Fern, the Royal Fern, is much used as a 
rustic vulnerary, and as an application to sprains or bruises. 
From the astringent mucilage present in the green parts 
