Acrostichum aureum
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Acrostrichum species generally inhabit warm and tropical regions. There are only 2-3 species known. (Source: Cook). This species grows profusely in mangroves and hence is also called Mangrove Fern.
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- Species identity and nomenclature
- Current Wikipedia entry
- Binomial Classification
- Morphological features
- Habitat and Geographical Spread
- Maps
- Medicinal Importance
- Cultural significance
- Commercial importance and cultivation
- Summary of PubMed articles
- Summary of NCBI molecular data
- External Links
- Images and Videos
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Names of users who have contributed to this species page | Gauravm | |
Date on which this page was first created | 2010/08/23 | |
This page was last modified on: | 6 September 2010 14:31:52 | |
Name of the species | Acrostichum aureum | |
ID on Encyclopedia of Life | ||
Synonyms | Please check Binomial Classification section for synonyms. | |
Common English Names | Golden leatherfern, Mangrove fern | |
Common Hindi Names | ||
Common Indian names | ||
Origins/Meanings of the common names |
Taxonomy from Encyclopedia of Life
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Taxonomy filled in form

Click here for the PDF of the phylogeny
Taxon | Value |
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Regnum (Kingdom) | Plantae |
Division | Pteridophyta |
Class | Filicopsida |
Order | Polypodiales |
Family | Parkeriaceae |
Genus | Acrostichum |
Source of data | USDA Plants profile |
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Based on classification
More details can be found in the Binomial Classification section.
Morphology from Encyclopedia of Life
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General morphology
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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General morphological features of the plant | The rhizomes are short and woody and can either be creeping or erect and covered by scales. Leaves are erect and develop in terminal rosettes. Well developed petioles but shorter than the blades. Leaf is pinnate and upto 3m long. Leaflets are tongue-shaped and upto 40cm long, leathery, with asymmetric base, rounded to cuneate, with entire margins and reticulate veins. The sporangia are not arranged on sori but borne on veins and on leaf tissue, with club-shaped hair scattered regularly on adaxial surface of leaves."The rhizomes are short and woody and can either be creeping or erect and covered by scales. Leaves are erect and develop in terminal rosettes. Well developed petioles but shorter than the blades. Leaf is pinnate and upto 3m long. Leaflets are tongue-shaped and upto 40cm long, leathery, with asymmetric base, rounded to cuneate, with entire margins and reticulate veins. The sporangia are not arranged on sori but borne on veins and on leaf tissue, with club-shaped hair scattered regularly on adaxial surface of leaves." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. | Cook |
Seed dispersal mechanism | Hydrophily (By water) | |
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Bloom type | Perennial | Cook |
Life cycle of the plant |
How to identify this species
For a detailed description, refer to the General Morphology details above
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Type of plant | Fern | |
Plant height | Up to 3 feet | |
Flower color | ||
Flower shape | ||
Floral symmetry | ||
Phyllotaxy of leaves | ||
Leaf shape | ||
Is the leaf petiolated or sessile? | Petiolated | Cook |
Is the leaf simple or compound? | Compound | Cook |
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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IUCN Conservation Status | ||
Indian States in which the species has been documented | Assam,Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Goa,Kerala,Maharashtra,Orissa,Punjab | Cook |
Locations at which the species has been documented | ||
Biotic zones inhabited | Northeastern Himalayas, Eastern Ghats, East Coast, Indo-Gangetic Plain, Outlying Islands | Based on Cook |
Details about the habitat | The plants usually prefer brackish and saline marshes, in mangrove forests. Sunderbans is thus a perfect habitat for them. However they cannot tolerate flooding (Naturia) They are occasionally found in freshwater swamps, marshes and around lakes. However, it is only the sporophyte that can grow in high soil salinity, the gametophyte cannot tolerate as much salt.(Li)
Among the first large low-growing plants to grow on the landward side of the mangrove, the fern provides shade for other plants and trees to take root. But on cleared mangroves, it can form impenetrable thickets which prevents other plants from taking root. Thus it is often considered a weed. For animals, these thickets provide safety and shelter. Birds such as the Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) make their nests in these thickets. (Naturia) |
Cook, Li97, Naturia |
Is this species native to India? | Yes | Based on information in Cook |
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Sub-Himalayan regions? | ||
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Western Ghats? | ||
Is the species indigenous/endemic to Eastern Ghats? |
More plants native to India
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{{#generateMap:Assam,Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Goa,Kerala,Maharashtra,Orissa,Punjab|Acrostichumaureum_brahma.svg|align=center}}
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Does this species have any medicinal use? | Yes |
Other plants of the same family having medicinal use:
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Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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General types of ailments this species is used for treating | Accidents | |
Specific ailments for which the species is used | Wound, Boils, Bleeding | Ethnoleaflets |
Medicinal systems which use this plant | Folk Medicine | Google Search |
Details of Medicinal use | The methanolic extract of this plant has been shown to have selective toxicity against different cancerous cell lines and low toxicity to mouse fibroblasts. This cytotoxic activity on cancerous cells has been reported for HeLa cells too.
In folk medicine, rhizomes are pounded into a paste and applied on wounds. Leaves are used to stop bleeding. |
Uddin09 |
Parts of the plant used for treatment | Rhizome, Leaves | Ethnoleaflets, Naturia |
Names of some medicinal active compounds in this plant, if known. | ||
Details of the active chemical compounds found in this plant | ||
Is the molecular basis of the medicinal action known? | No | |
Details of molecular basis of action | ||
Are the toxic effects of consumption of this plant known? | No | |
Details of the toxic effects of the plant species | ||
Have there been validation/clinical studies related to this plant? | ||
Details of the clinical studies related to the plant species |
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Is this plant/plant-derived product used in food preparations? | Yes | User-reported |
Part(s) of the plant used in the food preparations | Stem, Leaves | |
Details of use in food preparations | Young shoots can be eaten raw (Naturia). Leaves used as cattle feed. | |
Does this species have any religious significance? | No | User-reported |
Religions which mention/give significance to this species | ||
Religious occasions | ||
Details of religious use |
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Is this plant cultivated commercially in India? | No | |
Uses for which the plant is commercially cultivated | ||
Plant parts of commercial value | ||
Products where this plant is used | User-reported | |
Description of use | ||
States where this plant is cultivated commercially | ||
Best period for planting this plant | ||
Best period for harvesting this plant | ||
Method of propagation | ||
Water requirement of this plant | ||
Pests and Diseases affecting this plant during cultivation | ||
Other considerations while cultivating this plant |
Pubmed Word cloud
This word cloud is obtained using the tool LigerCat by searching the Pubmed database. LigerCat builds the cloud from the most relevant Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. Each term's relative size indicates how many times it appears in the PubMed search results. Click on a term to access the full LigerCat cloud, with live PubMed search capabilities. LigerCat has been developed for the Biology of Aging Project.
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- If there is an error message below, it means that there is no retrievable information available on NCBI
- If the number of nucleotide sequences is less than 100, very little genomic work has been done on this species. A respectable number of nucleotide sequences is above 10000.
- Most of the nucleotide sequences may come from three sources:
- Studies on single genes, where people try to sequence genes such as some specific dehydrogenases important,say, for tannin production
- Sequences of Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer, whose sequence is used for generating molecular phylogenetic trees to establish species relationships
- Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) which can tell about which genes are present and expressed in the species at a particular time in the given tissue
{{#queryDB:taxonomy |Acrostichum aureum }}
Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
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Details of modern scientific knowledge available for this species | ||
Are herbarium specimen available for this species? | ||
Institutes having herbarium samples |
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References
Li97 (Journal) : Xiao-Ping LI and Bee-Lian (1997),Tolerance of gametophytes of Acrostichum aureum (L.) to salinity and water stress, Photosynthetica:34(1):21. doi=10.1023/A:1006851431516
Uddin09 (Journal) : Uddin Sheikh et al (2009),Cytotoxic Effects of Bangladeshi Medicinal Plant Extracts, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med:NA(NA):NA. doi=10.1093/ecam/nep111
Cook (Book) : Christopher D.K.Cook (1996),', ISBN: 0198548214
USDA Plants profile (Web): USDA Plants profile of this species, Accessdate=2010-08-23
Ethnoleaflets (Web): A Review on the Potential Uses of Ferns, Accessdate=2010-08-23
Naturia (Web): Naturia entry on Mangrove fern, Accessdate=2010-08-23
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