Fern

Fern, MALE, Aspidium (Nephrodium) filix-mas, a name given by old herbalists in contrast to the Lady Fern, Asplenium (Lastrea) filix-femina, which, from the aspect of their foliage and common association in woods, they imagined to represent the two sexes. The large subterranean rhizome contains a volatile oil, to which the long-established medicinal value as a vermifuge (particularly in tapeworm) is due.