This fern often grows in association with oak trees. To many European cultures, and especially the Druids, this indicated that is was an especially powerful herb. Polypody certainly has a great deal of traditional use.
Dioscirides wrote:
Polypodium grows on mossy rocks and on the wild stocks of oaks; the height of twenty centimetres, like fern, somewhat rough, cut-in, but not divided as thinly. The hairy root lies underneath, with two curled locks like a polypus, the thickness of a little finger; but scraped it is green within, sharp, and with a somewhat sweet taste, and it is purging. To purge it is given boiled together with a hen, fish, beets or mallows. Dried, powdered, and sprinkled into honey and water, it expels phlegm and bile; and the root (pounded into small pieces and applied) is good for cleaning, and for cracks between the fingers. It is also called scolopendrion, pteris, or polyrrhizon, and the Romans call it filicula licitalis.
Brother Aloysius tells us that in German Folk Medicine, Polypody was used for chronic cough, to stimulate appetite, in the early stages of consumption, purgative, chest complaints, asthma, lung catarrh, phlegm in the chest, fever, intestinal blockage, mucus, spleen and lung complaints, liver, scrofula, polyps, conducive to the heart, purifies the blood, also used for melancholy, sorrow, depression and nightmares.
Gerard wrote of three ferns as Polypody, with “Polypody of the Oak” being the one we are referencing:
1. The leaves of Polypody might be thought to be like those of male Fern, but that they are far lesser, and not nicked at all in the edges: these do presently spring up from the roots, being cut on both the edges with many deep gashes, even hard to the middle rib; on the upper side they are smooth, on the nether side they are lightly powdered as it were with dusty marks: the root is long, not a finger thick, creeping aslope, on which are seen certain little buttons like to those pits and dents that appear in the tails of cuttle fishes: this hath in it a certain sweetness, with a taste something harsh: this kind of Fern likewisec wanteth not only flowers and seed, but stalks also.
2. Polypody of the Oak is much like unto that of the wall, yet the leaves of it are more finely cut, smooth on the upper side, of a pale green colour, together with the stalks and middle ribs; on the nether side rough like those of Fern: this Fern also liveth without a stalk; it groweth without seed: the root hath many strings fastened to it, one folded within another, of a mean bigness, and sweet in taste: it sendeth forth here and there new dodkins or springs, whereby it increaseth.
3. Clusius in his Exotics, lib. 4. cap. 7, gives us the history of an Indian Fern or Polypody found amongst the papers of one Dr. Nicholas Colie a Dutch physician, who died in his return from the East Indies. The root of it was six inches long, and almost one thick, of the same shape and colour as the ordinary one is: from this came up three leaves, of which the third was lesser than the other two; the two larger were eleven inches long, and their breadth from the middle rib (which was very large) was on each side almost five inches; the edges were divided almost like an oaken case: from the middle rib came other veins that ran to the ends of the divisions, and between these be smaller veins variously divaricated and netted, which made the leaf show prettily.. The colour of it was like that of a dry oaken leaf. Where Dr Colie gathered this it was uncertain, for he had left nothing in writing.
The Place.
It groweth on the bodies of old rotten trees, and also upon old walls, and the tops of houses: it is likewise found among rubbish near the borders of fields, especially under trees and thorns, and now and then in woods: and in some places it groweth rank and with a broader leaf, in others not so rank, and with a narrower leaf.
That which groweth on the bodies of old Oaks is preferred before the rest; instead of this most do use that which is found under the Oaks, which for all that is not to be termed Quercinum, or Polypody of the Oak.
The Time.
Polypody is green all the year long, and may be gathered at any time; it bringeth forth new leaves in the first spring.
The Names.
The Grecians call it Polypodion, of the holes of the fishes Polypi, appearing in the roots: it is called in Latin, Polypodium, after the Greek name, and many times Filicula, as though they should say Parva Filix or little Fern: the Italians name it, Polipodio: the Spaniards, Filipodio, and Polypodio: in High Dutch, Engelfusz, Baumfarn, Dropffoourtz: in low Dutch, Boom Varen: in French, Polypode: and we of England, Polypody: that which groweth upon the wall we call Polypody of the wall, and that on the Oak, Polypody of the Oak.
The Temperature.
Polypody doth dry, but yet without biting, as Galen writeth.
The Virtues.
A. Dioscorides writeth, that it is of power to purge and to draw forth choler and phlegm. Clusius addeth, that it likewise purgeth melancholy: other suppose it to be without any purging force at all, or else to have very little: of the same mind is also Iohannes Monardus who thinketh it purgeth very gently; which thing is confirmed by experience, the mistress of things. For in very deed Polypody of itself doth nor purge at all, but only serveth a little to make the belly soluble, being boiled in the broth of an old cock; with Beets or Mallows, or other like things that move to the stool by their slipperiness. Iohannes Mesue reckoneth up Polypody among those things that do especially dry and make thin: peradventure he had respect to a certain kind of arthritis, or ache in the joints: in which not one only part of the body, but many together most commonly are touched: for which it is very much commended by the Brabanters and other inhabitants about the River Rhine, and the Maas. In this kind of disease the hands, the feet, and the joints of the knees and elbows do swell. There is joined withal a feebleness in moving, through the extremity of the pain: sometimes the upper parts are less grieved, and the lower more. The humours do also easily run from one place to another, and then settle. Against this disease the Guelders and Clevelanders do use the decotion of Polypody, whereby they hope that the superfluous humours may be wasted and dried up, and that not by and by, but in continuance of time: for they appoint that this decoction should be taken for certain days together.
B. But this kind of gout is sooner taken away either by blood letting, or by purgations, or by both, and afterwards by sweat; neither is it hard to be cured if these general remedies be used in time: for the humours do not remain fixed in those joints, but are rather gathered together than settled about them.
C. Therefore the body must out of hand be purged, and then that which remaineth is to be wasted and consumed away by such things as procure sweat.
D. Furthermore, Dioscorides saith, that the root of Polypody is very good for members out of joint, and for chaps between the fingers.
E. The root of Polypody boiled with a little honey, water, and pepper, and the quantity of an ounce given, emptieth the belly of choleric and pituitous humours; some boil it in water and wine, and give thereof to the quantity of three ounces for some purposes with good success.
Culpepper tells us:
POLYPODY
Description. This is one of the fern tribe, a perennial herb, which is distinguished from the others by the seeds being in roundish spots, distributed on the under surface of the leaf. The root is shagged with hairs, and of the thickness of one's little finger, and, when broken, is found to be green within; and to the taste at once austere and sweet. The root lives long; in spring new leaves rise up, and those of the preceding year decay. There is no other part; for every leaf is itself a perfect plant, bearing its seeds upon its back; no other stalk arising.
Place. It is very common among mossy stones, upon the joints of old walls which are in the shade, and upon the stumps of old trees; but the best sort of it grows upon decayed parts of old oak trees.
Time. As its virtues depend upon the condition of its juices, it may be used as gathered at any time of the year; but it is in its greatest perfection in October and November, when the full grown leaves, having done their office, and perfected the seeds for a new succession, draw little more juices, then the body of the root swells, and acquires twice its former thickness: it then grows tender, and its juice, when broken, is saccharine, thick, and gummous.
Government and virtues. It is under Jupiter in Leo. With laxatives it gently carries off the contents of the bowels without irritation. By itself it is a very mild and useful purge; but being very slow, it is generally mixed by infusion or decoction with other purging ingredients, or in broths with beets, parsley, ammow, cummin, ginger, fennel and annise. With mucilaginous herbs, as white beet and mallow, it is excellent in cholics. The powder taken to half a drachm daily, and fasting three hours after, is good for the spleen, jaundice, and dropsy, for it is as fine an alternative as can be procured, and will penetrate farther than most other things yet known. Some use its distilled water in a cough, asthma, diseases of the lungs, pleurisies, obstructions of the mysentery, and in whatever cases acrimony is to be subdued. The best form to take it for any complaint of the intestines, is as follows: to an ounce of fresh polypody root bruised, add an ounce and a half of the fresh roots of white beets, and a handful of wild mallow; pour upon these a pint and a quarter of water, boiling hot, and let it stand till next day, then strain it off.
A quarter of a pint of this liquor contains the infusion of two drachms of the root. It should be sweetened with sugar-candy, or honey, which is much better.
Mrs. Grieve wrote:
Synonyms---Polypody of the Oak. Wall Fern. Brake Root. Rock Brake. Rock of Polypody. Oak Fern.
Parts Used---Root, leaves.
The Common Polypody is a common Fern in sheltered places, on shady hedge-banks, and on roots and stumps of trees, moist rocks and old walls.
Description---It has a creeping rhizome, which runs along the surface of the ground, or substance on which it grows, and is thick and woody, covered with yellowish scales. At intervals it throws up fronds, from a few inches to a foot in length, which hang down in tresses and have plain, long, narrow, smooth pinnae, placed alternately on the stalk and joined together at the base. The stalk has no scales. The sori are rather large and prominent, white at first, ripening into a golden yellow, and in round masses, placed in two rows along the underside of the upper segments, equally distant from the centre and the margin. Unlike all the preceding species described, they are not covered with an indusium. The young fronds come out in May, but in sheltered places the plant is nearly evergreen.
The name is derived from poly (many) and pous, podos (a foot), from the many foot-like divisions of the caudex.
Part Used Medicinally---The root, which is in perfection in October and November, though it may be collected until February. It is used both fresh and dried, and the leaves are also sometimes used.
This Fern was employed by the Ancients as a purgative: it is the Oak Fern of the older herbalists - not that of the modern botanists, Polypodium dryopteris. It was held that such Fern plants as grew upon the roots of an oak, which this Fern frequently does, owned special medicinal powers. In the same way the mistletoe that grew on the oak was esteemed by the Druids to have special powers of which that growing on other trees was devoid. The True Oak Fern is a much more delicate Fern and grows chiefly in mountainous districts, among the mossy roots of old oak-trees and sometimes in marshy places.
John K’eogh wrote of the Irish tradition:
It is very good against bowel disorders, and purges bilous substances. If crushed and drunk with honey and water with a little anise seed, it is good for opening obstructions of the spleen, and easing fevers. Made into a powder and stuffed into the nostrils, it is useful against polyps.
King’s American Dispensatory of 1898 tells us:
Botanical Source.—Polypodium has a perennial, creeping, irregular, brown rhizome, with membranous scales extending to the caudex or base of the stipe. The fronds are 6 to 12 inches high, distiched, green, smooth, deeply pinnatifid, being divided into alternate segments, nearly to the mid-vein, which are linear., oblong, obtuse, crenulate, the upper ones gradually smaller, parallel, a little curved, about a quarter of an inch wide. The stipe is naked and smooth. The fruit is borne on the lower surface of the frond, in large, distinct, golden dots, sori, or capsules, without any indusium, round, in a double row, and becoming finally brownish (W.—Eaton).
History and Description.—Polypody is common on shady rocks, in woods, and mountains throughout the United States. The root and tops are used in medicine. The root is of some length, 2 to 4 lines in diameter, frequently crooked, with chaffy scales, which are readily removed, and having many delicate, knobby rootlets. It has a peculiar, rather unpleasant odor, and a saccharo-mucilaginous, somewhat sickening taste. Water extracts its properties. Its constituents, according to Hager (Handbuch der Pharm. Praxis), are fatty oil (about 8 per cent), resin, some tannin, mannit, dextrose, dextrin, starch, malic acid, and a sweet substance resembling glycyrrhizin.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This plant is pectoral, demulcent, purgative, and anthelmintic. A decoction or syrup as been found very valuable in pulmonary and hepatic diseases, and a strong decoction is recommended as a purgative, and for the expulsion of taenia and other worms. Dose of the powdered plant, from 1 to 4 drachms; of the decoction or syrup, from 1 to 4 fluid ounces, 3 or 4 times a day.
Related Species.—Polypodium adiantiforme, a West Indian plant, is regarded by the natives as a pronounced antisyphilitic, and medical testimony seems to confirm its reputation in that direction. The Central American fern, Polypodium friedrichsthalianum, is said to possess like virtues, and to be a remedy against the bite of the Mexican insect, toboba (New Idea, 1885; from Dragendorff's Heilpflanzen).
Plants for A Future states:
Polypody stimulates bile secretion and is a gentle laxative. In European herbal medicine it is traditionally used as a treatment for hepatitis and jaundice and as a remedy for indigestion and loss of appetite. It should not be used externally since it can cause skin rashes. The root is alterative, anthelmintic, cholagogue, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, pectoral, purgative, tonic. It can be used either fresh or dried and is best harvested in October or November, though it can be collected until February. The leaves can also be used but are less active. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of pleurisy, hives, sore throats and stomach aches and as a mild laxative for children. It was also considered of value for lung ailments and liver diseases. The poulticed root is applied to inflammations. A tea or syrup of the whole plant is anthelmintic.
Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase.
The Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal plants tells us:
American Indians used root tea for pleurisy, hives, sore throat, stomachaches; poulticed root for inflammations. Historically, root steeped in milk is a laxative for children. Once considered valuable for lung ailments and liver disease. Tea or syrup of whole plant used for liver ailments, pleurisy and worms. Like Male Fern, this fern was believed to be toxic to tapeworms. The root has a unique,rather unpleasant odor, and a sweet (cloying) flavor at first, but then quickly becomes nauseating. Root contains, fructose, sucrose and glucose, ply methyl salicylate (wintergreen flavor); it may contain glycyrrhizin, the sweetener found in licorice root, but reports to that effect have not been confirmed. Root contains up to 2 percent insect regulating hormones. Resins active against worms. Warning: Of unknown toxicity.
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The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.
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