Adder's tongue fern (Ophioglossum reticulatum)

Family: Ophioglossaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Ophioglossum reticulatum is a tropical, perennial fern growing up to 35 cm high with fronds that are oval with heart-shaped base. The rhizome is erect and cylindrical, exhibiting many thin roots. The plant is a popular nutritious vegetable. The fronds, in particular, are cooked (blanched) or used in salads. A decoction of the rhizome is used topically on boils. The leaves, on the other hand are boiled in oil and applied to wounds.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet flavour. — Young fronds are commonly eaten as a salad or vegetable.; The leaves should be blanched only; if boiled too much they turn into slime.

Habitat & North American Range

Grassland in open damp sandy soil at elevations up to 1,500 metres in Africa. Moist sandy soils, seasonally wet soils, along roads, on termite hills, in montane grassland among rocks and forest margins, from sea-level up to 2,500 metres. (Zone 10)