Common Name: Leather Fern

General Information

Acrostichum aureum is a large evergreen fern with fronds up to 3 metres long[].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food and material for thaching. An ornamental plant, it can be grown in gardens.

Known Hazards

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[].

Botanical References

Range

Pantropical.

Habitat

Brackish and non-brackish, inundated areas of the tropics, often in or on the margin of mangrove swamps or marshes[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Fern
Height	2.50 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Acrostichum aureum is a plant of the humid lowland tropics and subtropics[]. Very cold sensitive, it is intolerant of frost[].
Requires a permanently moist position and a position with bright, filtered light[]. Plants can succeed in saline or non-saline conditions - young plants can tolerate a change between the two conditions but older plants become accustomed to either saline or non-saline and are unlikely to survive a change[].

Edible Uses

Very young leaves - raw or cooked[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The ferns are dried, strung up on rods, and used instead of straw as thatch for the roof[, ]. The fronds can be combined with the leaves of Parinari laurinum[].

Propagation

Spores -

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