Gen info
- Lygodium (climbing fern) is a genus of abut 40 species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world. It is the sole genus in the family Lygodiaceae. The genus is largely pan-tropical, with the center of diversity in the Pacific islands, such as Borneo, the Philippines, and New Guinea. (3)
- Some Lygodium species are now considered very problematic invasive weeds in the southeastern United States, populations of which have increased more than 12-fold in the past decade. (3)
- Leonardo Co's database lists nine native Lygodium species: Lygodium auriculatum, L. circinnatum, L. flexuosum, L. japonicum, L. longifolium, L. merrillii, L. microphyllum, L. salicifolium, and L versteegii. (10)
- Note: Schizaeaeae is a family of ferns in the order Schizaeales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group  classification of 2016, it included only two genera. Alternatively, two families kept separate in PPG I, Lygodiaceae and Anemiaceae, may be included in Schizaeaceae so that that family contains four genera. (11)
- Commerce: In the late 1980s, a study estimated 70-270 million L. circinnatum stems per year were required for basketry production needs. Three decades later, the demand for stems supplied a global market worth over US$26.3 million (2020) and over a billion stems per year of resource and management required to sustain the trade at that level. (13)

Botany
• Nito is a scrambling fern. Primary petioles are short or wanting. the secondary ones are 2 to 5 centimeters long. Pinnae are stalked, the sterile ones palmately lobed or dichotomous with lobed leaflets, the lobes lanceolate, 10 to 30 centimeters long, 1 to 4.5  (13)centimeters wide; the fertile one are once or twice dichotomous with linear lobes, 1 to 10 centimeters wide, with contracted lamina. Spikes are arranged along the margin, 2 to 10 millimeters long. Spores are verruculose.

• Lygodium circinnatum is a terrestrial fleshy fern that has a short rhizome, which spreads on the ground. The stem is generally called rachis, the length can reach upto10 m, 2-5 mm in diameter; sterile rachis branching like a fork (dichotomous), brownish green; fertile rachis branching also like a fork (dichotomous), brownish green, the direction of rotation to the right (dextrorsum volubilis).The leaves are facing each other, finger-shaped, 2-5 indentations, jagged edges, pale green color. Sometimes it has two branches and each branch has two more branches. Fertile leaves are generally located at the tip of the plant and the edges of the leaves are more bumpy than sterile leaves (Dwiyanti et al.2017).Sporangia are located on the lower surface of the fertile leaf (Dwiynati et al 2017; Holtum1966; Shinta et al.2012). (12)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Common at low and medium altitudes; growing over shrubs and high into trees.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Caroline Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Santa Cruz Is., Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vanuatu, Vietnam. (5)

Constituents
- Aqueous extract yielded alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, and glycosides, with absence of saponins and terpenoids. Total phenolic compounds was 31.84 ± 0.24 mg/ml gallic acid equivalent. Flavonoids were 63.5 ± 1.67 mg/ml catechin equivalent. (see study below) (9)

Properties
- Studies have suggested antioxidant and radical scavenging properties.

Parts utilized
Roots, stems, leaves.

Uses
Edibility
- Young leaves reportedly cooked and used as vegetable.
Folkloric
- Stipes are chewed and applied to bites of venomous reptiles and insects to neutralize the poison.
- Roots and leaves are applied to wounds.
- Roots and stems taken internally for contraception.
- Used as a protective medicine after childbirth.
- In Sabah, Malaysia, young leaf is soaked in water, wrapped with a clean cloth and squeezed, and the drop applied to treat eye pains.
- In Malaysia, the Temuan tribe of Ayer Hitam use the exudate from rhizome as insect repellent and to treat snake bites and aquatic animal bites. (6)
- Leaves crushed with rhizomes of Curcuma sp. applied as sprain medicines. (12)
Others
• Crafts / Binding / Basket ware: All species of the genus Lygodium have elongated climbing rachis reaching lengths of several meters. Of the lygodium species, L. circinnatum is the most common and widely used. Also used for tying floats to outriggers and other lashing uses on canoes. Also used in making hats and finely woven basket ware. (2) (7) In Indonesia, locally known as ketak, the species of fern is used as raw material for making woven artifacts, products from which are in great demand by domestic and foreign tourists. (12)

Studies
• Antioxidant: In a study of 15 ferns for DPPH scavenging activity expressed in IC50 and AEAC) and reducing power (FRP), the methanolic extract of leaves of L. circinnatum showed moderate TPC with DPPH scavenging activity of IC50 1.73 ± 0.12 mg/ml, AEAC of 225 ± 16 mg AA/100g, and FRP of 220 ± 9 mg GAE/100g. (8)
• Phenolics / Flavonoids / Radical Scavenging: Study for radical scavenging activity using DPPH assay showed an IC50 of 143.76 µg/ml compared to standard ascorbic acid IC50 of 39.43 µg/ml. Polyphenols including flavonoids were found abundant in the plant. (see constituents above) (9)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
The Use of Medicinal Plant Species by the Temuan Tribe of Ayer Hitam Forest, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia / I. Faridah Hanum and Nurulhuda Hamzah / PertanikaJ. Trap. Agric. Sci. 22(2): 85 - 94 (1999)
(2)
Ferns and Man in New Guinea / Jim Croft / Australian National Botanic Garden / based on a paper presented to Papua New Guinea Botany Society, 1982
(3)
Lycopodium / Wikipedia
(4)
Medicinal Plants of Kadazandusun of Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia / Julius Kulip
(5)
Lygodium circinatum / Synonyms / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(6)
The Use of Medicinal Plant Species by the Temuan Tribe of Ayer Hitam Forest, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia / FARIDAH HANUM and NURULHUDA HAMZAH / Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 22(2): 85-94 (1999)
(7)
Lygodium circinnatum / Useful Tropical Plants
(8)
Antioxidant Properties of Some Malaysian Ferns / How-Yee Lai and Yau-Yan Lim / 2011 3rd International Conference on Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering IPCBEE, Vol.20 (2011) / © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore
(9)
Identification of Bioactive Compounds, Quantitative Measurement of Phenolics and Flavonoids Content, and Radical Scavenging Activity of Lygodium circinnatum / Riana Binti Awang Saman, Ruzaidi Azli Mohd. Mokhtar, Mohammad Iqbal / Transactions on Science and Technology, 2017; Vol 4, No 3-3: pp 354- 359
(10)
Lygodiaceae / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(11)
Schizaeaceae / Wikipedia
(12)
Short Communication: Ethnobotanical study of Lygodium circinnatumand its utilization in crafts weaving in Indonesia / Mulyati Rahayu, Emma Sri Kuncari, Mahdawia, Marwan Setiawan / BIODIVERSITAS, 2020; 21(2): pp 617-621 / pISSN: 1421-033X / eISSN: 2085-4722 / DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d210225
(13)
Smoke and Mirrors: The Global Trade in Fern (Lygodium circinnatum) Fiber Basketry / Anthony B Cunningham, Joseph A Brinckmann / Economic Botany, 2023; Vol 77: pp 243-266 /
DOI: 10.1007/s12231-023-09576-9

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