Page 168 - Pharmacognosy 2 PG303

Pharmacognosy-2 (PG303) Level 2 Clinical Pharmacy-Pharm D

Macroscopical Characters
Male fern occurs in cylindrical-ovoid pieces, 7-30 cm, mostly 7-15 cm. long,
3-8 cm. thick. It has a slight odor and a sweetish and astringent taste at first but
subsequently bitter and nauseous. Rhizome, hard, cylindrical, oblique in direction
of growth and tapering towards one end; I to 3 cm. in diameter, externally, blackish
brown, entirely covered with the persistent frond-bases; longitudinally ridged and
grooved. Frond bases, hard, curved, sub-cylindrical or angular, 3-6 cm. long, 5-15

mm. thick; externally, dark brown or nearly black, bluntly angular or longitudinally
furrowed. Both rhizome and frond-bases are densely covered with dry brown
membranous scaly ramenta, the fronds of the bud show circinate vernation,
fracture, short, internally both rhizomes and frond-bases are green, yellowish-green
or reddish-brown but not blackish brown, exhibiting 7-9 pale yellow meristele in
various sizes and arranged in diffuse circle, the rhizome shows also several
vascular bundles running to the leaf bases.

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