Plants 20-50 cm. tall. Rhizomes strong and decumbent, densely covered with linear, brown scales; the scales longly acuminat at apexes, margins ciliate, attached positions subdeeply brown. Fronds approached, monomorphic; stipes strong, thick 2-4 mm. in diam. 3.5-5 cm.long, bases covered with scales, upwards spasely covered with stellate hairs, stramineous to greyly stramineous; laminae ellipticly lanceolate, widest at subbases, attenuated upwards, apexes acuminate and obtuse at top, bases subroundly truncate or cordate, 10-30 X 2.5-6 cm. entire, after dry softly coriaceous, grayish green or brownish and nearly glabrous on upper surfaces, brown and covered with stellate hairs of thick layer on under surfaces. Main veins strong and raised on both sides, lateral veins visible, veinlets obscure. Sori small, in irregularly point-like arraged between lateral veins, spreading allover under surfaces above bases of laminae, exindusiate, covered with stellate hairs when young, brownish and brick-red when old.

Diuretic and haemostatic (leaves)

Flora of China

Beta-sitosterol, mangiferin, isomangiferin, trifolin, kaempferol, diploptene, fumaric acid, boletic acid, caffeic acid, 2-butenedioic acid, chlorogenic acid.

The leaves are used to treat gonorrhea with hematuria, strangury, cough and asthma. It can be used to arrest bleeding in metrorrhagia, hemoptysis, and epistaxis. Recently it is also used to treat acute and chronic dysentery and leucopenia.

1. Jing-Nuan Wu. An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica. P: 540, Oxford University Press, Inc.2005.
2. Xinrong Yang, Yang Xinrong. Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Manual from A-Z, symptoms, therapy, and herbal remedies. P: 455, Springer.2003.