Hamsapadi

Botanical Name : Adiantium Lunilatum.

Family :Polypodiaceae    

Identification No.: SDACH/HG/148                          

Introduction :

A fern found in moist places, generally on hill slopes, ascending up to an elevation of about 1500 m throughout the greater parts of India.

Names in different Indian languages :

English : Maiden Hair

Hindi : Hanspadee,Hansaraj

Kannada : Hamsapadi

Sanskrit :  Hamsapadi

Assam : Sharul arj

Telugu : Hamsapadi

Gujarati : Hansaraja

Bengali : Kali Jhat

 Morphology :

A Perennial fern found in cooler places.

Root – Cylindrical, 10 to 15 cm in length and up to 0.5 mm in diameter; tortuous, brittle, thin, wiry, at places swollen, and branched, profusely covered with long, twisted, yellow coloured hair; colour dark brown . Odour nil; taste astringent.

Frond – 8 to 10, tufted, spreading and arching over, simple pinnate rarely ending in a terminal fan shaped leaflet, 30 to 50 x 3 to 3.5 cm; rachis shiny, reddish-black in colour, simple pinnate; pinna 12 to 20 pairs, 2.5 to 4 x 0.5 to 1.5 cm, gradually become smaller towards the tip of the frond, alternate and closely placed showing forked venation; attached to the rachis by a pointed base, stipe 0.5 to 1.2 cm in length; sori marginal, 9 to 12 per pinna, one per each secondary lobe, 3 to 6 mm long.

 Distribution & Habitat :

A fern found in moist places, generally on hill slopes

Chemical constituents :

 Chlorophyll degradation products ; higher carotenoids

 Properties :

RASA-Kashaya

GUNA- Guru

VIRYA-Sitha

VIPAKA-Madhura 

Karma –Visaghna

Dosha : Kaphpithahara

 Indication :

Visarpa, Daha , Vrana, Atisara , Rakta Vikara

 Part used :

 Whole plant

 Dosage : 

1-3 g

Therapeutic Uses :

Wound healing , erysipelas , dyspnoea and cough

IUCN Status : Not evaluated

Research updates

In-vitro Neuro-2a cytotoxicity analysis and molecular docking investigation on potential anti-amyloid agents from Adiantum lunulatum 2024

A new triterpenoid from the fern Adiantum lunulatum and evaluation of antibacterial activity 2001

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