VOLUME NUMBER AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL: 83 2 (1993) 71 SHORTER NOTES — Two Ethnopharmacological Notes on Venezuelan Asplenium During an ethno- N - - Mor6n (10°17' 10°28' 68*^10' botanical inventory in the upper River drainage Lat. W Lone). Carabobo Venezuela, information State. gion between 1000-12(X)m, and is Mountain Range. The people local species been as medicines; in fact, the very etymology of the name Asplenium comes from the Greek Modem for spleen. references mention various species of this genus with different medic- (Boom, Amer. Fern 75:19-21, 1985; Wile May, Bot. Rev. 44:491-528, 1978; uses inal J. Murillo Wen Ifoli A backaches. decoction using die entire used an analgesic relieve "Salvajilo", as to is & PORT, Nino 235 days (Diaz plant administered two or three times a day for five is MO). known "Canaguara", used as a analgesic, for Asplenium serratum locally as is L., decoction MO) PORT, Thi we Tryon (Amer. Fern 49:10-24, 1959) As mention duced by trauma. a final note, that J. of Asplenium called reported that the Inca people sometimes use an unidentified species new along with the uses Tryon's information, "espinicu" as a substitute for "coca". may and other be present in these reported here, suggests that some type of alkaloid — WiLMER Herbario Diaz, Franc species of the genus. UNELLEZ-Guanare, Programa Portuguesa, Venezuela. — of a During course Rhizome Fern Genus Dipteris the Vasculature of the the in some homosporous interest- ferns, the comparative study of the vascular organization in rph Moore Moore Fern Chandra (Indian Nadu and published by S. J. Palayamkottai, Tamil (India) 9:133-137, 1992) US Herbarium, National Uie Recently, one of us (S.K.) had an opportunity to visit David Lellmger, of B. DC. and Uirough the courtesy Smithsonian Washington, Institution, US D. 1595383), Taiang 4706; Christ (Y. procured some rhizome material of D. chinensis and .species from Kjellberg two being D. papilioniformis remaining Of the genus are available, the due be studied which could not Borneo from Christ Celebes and D. quinquefurcata (Bak.) US Herbarium are from National procured The made on species observaUons the three relauonship possible aims explain the also to presented and present investigation here, the NOTE SHORTER 72 value how of potential are these attributes and assess far among species studied to the six species slender, The rhizome three is in all taxonomic and phylogenctic considerations. in The species studied earlier. and dichotomously branched like the three wide-creeping me nc rnizuuic. monomorphic and borne in two rows on Uic dorsal surrace oi i fronds are and similar to the three of rhizome solenostelic with large piUi is vascular cylinder the is species (D. three The vascular supply to the leaf in all species of Dipteris studied earlier. resembles of D. conjugata, and D. novoguineensis) that D. neieuwenuisii chinensis, undivided C-shaped, ribbon-like strand that is where each consists of a solitary, leaf trace with The does not have any correlation branch below trace up a point close the base. to The dichotomous. root traces and branching of vascular cylinder is the leaf trace, tlie tlie of vascular from any part of the outer surface the vascular strands originate as superficial Thus D. D. conjugata, D. chinensis, species studied earlier. three cylinder as in otiier where each leaf trace form one group of species nieuwenhuisii and D. novoguineensis primitive con- C-shapcd strand indicating the relatively consists of a solitary, undivided, Matonia, Gleichenia and Cheiropleuria. of vasculature of axis as in dition tlie its two separate D. lobbiana shows a sign of advancement where the leaf trace arises as vascular one from margin of Uie leaf gap, which further divide into four either strands, number of vascular strands strands before entering the leaf base. FurUier increase in die where originates constituting a leaf trace has been reported in D. wallichii tlie leaf trace may which divide to as four separate strands, two from either margin of Uie gap, later On of basis form eight vascular strands before trace leaves the cortex of tlie axis. tiie tlic the vasculature of the rhizome, it is suggested that die complexity of the leaf trace in forming and D. novoguineensis) through biana, leading to die more complex state in D. wallichii which probably exhibits a (Amer. Fern 53:42-46, 1963) repor J. 66) — Chandra and Kaur tion of the species Subiiash Surjit Lucknow-226(X)l Institute. (India).