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: in the Philippines: 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. (8)
- Etymology: The genus name Lygodium means "twining one", referring to the climbing habit of the fern. The species epithet flexuosum means "zigzag", referriing to the winding rachis of the plant. (23)

Botany
• Lygodium flexuosum is a climbing or scrambling fern. The dwarfed branches are up to 3 millimeters long. Pinnae are pinnate, 15 to 25 centimeters long, and sometimes bipinnate in the lower part. Pinnules are stalked, finely serrate, otherwise entire lanceolate or more commonly lobed on both sides at the base, 4 to 10 centimeters long; the fertile pinnae are shorter than the sterile one. Spikes are 2 to 10 millimeters long. Spores are verruculose.

• Growth form: A terrestrial climbing fern with digitate fronds growing to several meters tall. Foliage: Fronds are held on a long stipe, to 50 cm or more, narrowly winged on the upper part. The main rachis-branch is very short, up to 3 mm long covered in downy hairs. The secondary rachis-branch is pinnate to bipinnate, each leaflet is trilobed to arrow-shaped or simple with each lobe up to 15 cm long, 2.5 cm wide with toothed margins held on a winged, sparsely hairy stalk up to 1 cm long. The stalk may thicken at the attachment point of the blade. Reproductive parts-Non-flowering: Spore-bearing lobes protrudes at the margin of the lobes, up to 10 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Others: Rhizomes are short-creeping, covered in dark brown to black hairs. (23)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Common and widely distributed, especially in open places in the Philippines.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, New Guinea, Northern Territory, Queensland, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Australia. (15)

Constituents
- Plant yields antheridiogens, O-P-coumaryldryocrassol, tectoquinone, kaempferol, kaemferol-3-beta-D-glucosdie, beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol as main constituents. Main constituent is lygodinolide, used mainly for wound healing.
- Roots yield flavonoids, quercetin, and pentahydroxyflavone-3-O-rutinoside.
- Rich source of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and coumarin.
- Study yielded saponins (27.6%), bitter principles, sterols, and triterpene alcohols.
- Phytochemical screening of aqueous and methanol crude leaf extracts yielded alkaloids, phenols, and saponins. Gallic tannins, steroids, and flavonoids were present in the methanol extract. (see study below) (19)

Properties
- Considered antioxidant, anti-implantation, anti-ovulatory.
- Studies have shown hepatoprotective, antiproliferative, antiangiogenic, antioxidant, antifertility, antibacterial, wound healing, antihistaminic, mast cell stabilizing, contraceptive properties.

Parts utilized
Whole plant, roots, leaves.

Uses
Edibility
- Young fronds eaten as vegetable.
- In Nepal, during times of scarcity, Chitwan people use it as vegetable sustenance.
Folkloric
- Roots and leaves used externally for ringworm and other skin ailments.
- Elsewhere, plant is used in treatment of blenorrhagia.
- In Indian traditional medicine, used for jaundice and liver disorders. Also used for dysmenorrhea, wound healing, and eczema.
- Kadar tribes of the Western Ghats of India use a leaf paste to cure jaundice.
- The Maharashtra tribe in India smoke bidi made of roots for rheumatism and arthritis; also, fresh roots boiled with mustard oil used for massage. Bidi also smoked for bleeding gums, bad breath, sprains, scabies, rheumatism, as antifertility and abortifacient, for jaundice and wound healing.
- In India, whole plant used for bloody dysentery. Also used as expectorant and for wounds and sprains.
- In Malaysia, used externally for ringworm.
- In Vietnam, applied to wounds after mashing; also used as diuretic.
- In Nepal, plant ash used for herpes.
- In Bangladesh, paste of roots mixed with Asparagus racemosus, taken orally to treat physical weakness. (16)
- In India, juice of fern use to treat gonorrhea, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea and female infertility. (25)
Others
• Animals: Plant fed to domestic animals to treat foot and mouth diseases.
• Basketry / Ties: Wiry rachises are used for plaiting and weaving to make hats, baskets, boxes, and bags. Also used to tie rice sheaths in the fields.