Hitotsuba (English spelling) Japanese felt fern

An evergreen fern of the Polypodiaceae family. It produces simple tongue-shaped leaves about 30 cm long from a long, creeping rhizome. Compared to the vegetative leaves, the sporophylls are slightly narrower and taller. Sporangia cover the entire underside of the leaf. It is widely distributed from Ibaraki Prefecture westward, growing on rocks and tree trunks in sunny mountainous areas, but can also form large colonies on the ground. Hitotsuba is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and the whole plant is used in traditional Chinese medicine for diuresis, menstruation, and to treat injuries.

[Kurita Koro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ウラボシ科の常緑性シダ。長くはう根茎から30センチメートル前後の舌状の単葉を生ずる。栄養葉に比べると、胞子葉はやや幅が狭く、背は高い。胞子嚢(のう)は葉裏一面を覆う。茨城県以西に広く分布し、山地の日当りのよい岩上や樹幹に着生するが、地上に大群落をつくることもある。ヒトツバは観葉植物としても栽植されるほか、漢方では全草を利尿、通経、外傷の治療に用いる。

［栗田子郎］

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