Gen info
- The genus Acrostichum comprises three species of mangrove ferns, namely: Acrostichum aureum, A. speciosum, and A. danaeifolium. Acrostichum speciosum is restricted to the Indo-West Pacific region.   (4)
- The genus name derives from Greek words 'akros' meaning 'outermost' and 'stichos' meaning 'a row.' The species epithet 'speciosum' refers to the attractive form of the plant, showy,beautiful, handsome. (5)

Botany
Acrostichum speciosum is a  tall fern that grows in large, dense clumps. Fronds are large, pinnately compound, up to 2 m long. Opposite pinnae are oblong with a sharply pointed tip (15 cm long). Fertile pinnae are smaller than sterile ones and form dark brown sporangia that cover the entire underside. Stem is underground, horizontal, known as a rhizome. Rhizome and base of the stipes (frond petioles) are covered in shiny, dark brown scales, 8 mm long. (1)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Bismark Archipelago, Caroline Is., Fiji, Hainan, Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maluku, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New South Wales, Nicobar Is., Northern Territory, Queensland, Seychelles, Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, Western Australia. (2)

Properties
- Studies have suggest wound healing and antimicrobial properties.

Parts used
Leaves, rhizomes, stems.

Uses
Edibility
- Roasted stems are used as food by Aborigines.
- In Vietnam, the young leaves are eaten as famine food.
- In India and Sri Lanka, young shoots eaten raw as salad or cooked.
Folkloric
- In Bangladesh, used for boils, wounds, and rheumatism.
- In Malaysia and Vietnam, crushed rhizomes to treat boils and wounds.
- Leaves used to stop bleeding.
Others
- Thatching: Fronds used for thatching.
- Fodder. Leaves used as cattle feed.
- Fiber: Fibers from old leaves used to make cord.
- Agroforestry: Considered a major barrier for natural mangrove recovery. (•)

Studies
• Wound Healing / Rhizome: Study evaluated the wound healing properties of ethanolic extract of Acrostichum aureum and A. speciosum on an excisional wound model in Sprague-Dawley rats. Solcoseryl jelly and aqua cream were used as positive and negative controls. Results showed wound treated with 10% A. speciosum significantly exerted faster wound contraction (p<0.05) and significantly enhanced epithelization period (p<0.05). Results suggest both plants enhanced the wound healing process. (3)
• Antimicrobial / Roots: Study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of leaves, stem and root of A. speciosum using different polarity extraction solvents of n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. All extracts showed no antimicrobial activity in disc diffusion method. The exception was the moderate antibacterial activity of ethyl acetate root extracts against Gram positive B. cereus and Gram negative E. coli. The EA root extract was bacteriostatic and bactericidal against B. cereus at 0.04 mg/mL, and bacteriostatic against E. coli at 0.012 mg/mL. (4)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Acrostichum speciosum Willd. / National Parks: Flora & Fauna Web
(2)
Acrostichum speciosum / Plants of the World Online
(3)
Wound Healing Properties of Ethanolic Extract of Acrostichum aureum and Acrostichum speciosum Rhizome in Rats / Hendy Putra Herman, Deny Susanti et al / Journal of Tropical Resources and Sustainable Science, 2013; 1(2): pp 42-48
(4)
Antimicrobial Activity of Mangrove Plant Acrostichum speciosum / Shahbudin Saad, Muhammad Taher, Denuy Susanti, and Haitham Qaralleh / Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, Nov 2013; 7(SpcEd) /
(5)
Acrostichum speciosum / Some Magnetic Island Plants

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)