Practical
Plants

Cyrtomium falcatum

Holly Fern

an evergreen member of the Cyrtomium genus in the family Dryopteridaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Foliage
evergreen
Height
0.1 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The rhizome is used as an anthelmintic, chiefly for the expulsion of tapeworm[5].

Product or use
Anthelmintic

Environment

Range
E. Asia - Himalayas. Reported to be naturalised in parts of Britain.
Habitat
Naturalized on and by walls, among maritime rocks and in other shady places in western Britain.
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 9+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Spores - best sown as soon as ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Germinates in 1 - 3 months at 20°c[1]. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid until they are well established. Do not plant outside until the ferns are at least 2 years old and then only in a very well sheltered position. Division in spring or summer[3].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

There is some uncertainty over the hardiness of this species, one report says that it is not frost-tolerant[4], whilst another says that it is grown a an ornamental pot plant in Britain and has been reported as becoming naturalized in this country[2].

References

  1. Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990-00-00

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  2. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

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  3. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

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  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

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  5. Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00

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