Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris), of the Pteridaceae family. Delicate tufted fern with black hair-like stalks and fan-shaped fronds; native range: damp shaded rocks and well-sides across southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Himalaya. Globally recognized as hamsapadi in Sanskrit, hansraj / mubarakha in Hindi, parsiaoshan / sha'r al-jabbar in Arabic, and Venus's-hair · true maidenhair in English. The part used is whole frond (herb). Faintly sweetish and mucilaginous, then a little astringent, with a green haylike smell when dried.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
MAIDENHAIR FERN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Maidenhair fern
- Scientific name
- Adiantum capillus-veneris L.
- Family
- Pteridaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole frond (herb)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet · astringent (madhura , kashaya)
- Western
- sweet · mucilaginous, faintly astringent
- Unani
- sweet, faintly astringent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- temperate (inclining cold & moist, 1st degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- lungs · mucous membranes · liver
- Unani
- lungs · liver · spleen
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kaphaghna (expectorant), pitta-shamaka, mutrala (diuretic), for jvara (fever) and raktapitta (bleeding)
- Western
- expectorant, demulcent, pectoral, emmenagogue, mildly diuretic
- Unani
- munaffis-e-balgham (expectorant), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent), mudirr (diuretic), jali (detergent)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- generally gentle; large doses in pregnancy for its emmenagogue action
- Toxicity
- none of note in customary use
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