Christella dentata is a small fern with widespread distribution in Australia and islands in the south Pacific Ocean. There are many local common names. In New South Wales it grows north from the southern Illawarra region and is known as binung.
| Christella dentata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Christella dentata at Chatswood West, Australia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Suborder: | Aspleniineae |
| Family: | Thelypteridaceae |
| Genus: | Christella |
| Species: | C. dentata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Christella dentata | |
| Synonyms | |
Found on the margins of rainforest, by streams or in more open forests with adequate moisture. Sori are circular in shape,[1] with a hairy closed covering.
It was the first species of fern to become naturalised on the Hawaiian Islands, recorded initially in Oahu in 1887 and now found on all major islands there.[2] There it interbreeds with the local species C. cyatheoides, with the resultant hybrid offspring sterile.[3]
Christella dentata is an edible fern,[4] and also a folk remedy for skin diseases.[5] Pharmacological study found that water extract of the fern was as toxic as anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil against human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line (K562).[6]
References
edit- ^ "Christella dentata". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ Brownsey, Pat; Perrie, Leon (2016). "Re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of Christella dentata (Thelypteridaceae) supports recognition of one species in New Zealand". Tuhinga: The Records of the Museum of New Zealand te Papa Tongarewa. 27: 51.
- ^ Daniel Dooley Palmer (2003). Hawaiʻi's ferns and fern allies. University of Hawaii Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-8248-2522-5.
- ^ Kumar M, Ramesh M, Sequiera S. Medicinal pteridophytes of Kerala, South India. Indian Fern J 2003; 20: 1-28.
- ^ Kumar S, Dash D. Flora of Nandan Kanan Sanctuary: Medicinal plants with their role in health care. Int J Pharm Life Sci 2012; 3(4): 1631-1642.
- ^ Chai TT, Yeoh LY, Mohd Ismail NI, Ong HC, Wong FC (2015) Cytotoxicity and antiglucosidase potential of six selected edible and medicinal ferns. Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica - Drug Research. 72(2): 397-401.
