Abortifacient Lupine Abdomen Pack: Mix 3 - 5 g bitter lupine seed flour with castor oil to form a thick paste. Apply to lower abdomen. Cover with a piece of plastic, and wrap abdomen with long strip of fabric or wide elastic bandages to hold in place. Sleep on a towel, and place a hot water bottle on top of the lower abdomen. Wear abdomen pack overnight.
* Extreme Caution! Do not take internally! External applications may have toxic effects.
Male Fern
This drug was found to be absolutely without value. An ethereal extract of male fern from one of the most reputable German pharmaceutical laboratories was purchased… but absolutely no results were obtained from its use. The Commission then obtained a fresh solid extract, which gave no better results, although such effects as dizziness, etc., followed its administration.
-H.A. Hare, M.D. in Therapeutic Gazette, 1908
AKA: Shield fern or root, sweet or knotty brake, basket fern, and bear paw’s root.
Part Used: Recently dried root.
Medicinal Properties: Anthelmintic and emmenagogue.
Effects on the Body: Cathartic purgative used to expel worms and reflexively promotes menstruation.
Abortifacient Action: Gastrointestinal irritation.
Contains: Oleoresin, filicin, desaspidin, albaspidin, flavaspidic acid and essential oil.
Description: Perennial male fern has stemless oblong-lanceolate erect fronds 2 - 4 ft. (1 m) in height. Leaflets, which hold their yellow-green color through most of the year, are alternate and variously divided and notched. The spore holding sori found on the backs of the leaflets are closer to the mid vein than the margin. Male Fern’s numerous kidney-shaped sori appear from summer to autumn, the young color being light green maturing to brown. Male fern has a strong, woody, chaffy rhizome, 8 - 20 in. (20 – 51 cm) long, with a 4 in. (10 cm) diameter. The outer color of the rhizome is dark brown, and the medicinal inside is pale green. Male fern grows in rocky woodlands from Alaska south to Arizona eastward to South Dakota, north to Michigan and Vermont.
Male fern was traditionally gathered as part of the summer solstice celebration of Midsummer’s Eve. The ritual gathering of herbs before sunrise on Midsummer’s Eve goes back to ancient Babylonia, 700 BC. The Midsummer’s Eve celebration evolved to a Roman summer solstice celebration in honor of the Great Mother Earth Goddess, Ceres, (later known as Diana) who protected and nurtured the grains of the fields. Ecstatic dancing and merrymaking around the fires went on all though the night. Leaping over the fire was believed to protect the individual from harm and protect the vigor of the crops as well. A midsummer tree or maypole (a phallic symbol honoring the union of the sun and moon on the solstice) was erected to bring good luck and fertility. Male fern was associated with fire and lightning, and was gathered by moonlight on the summer solstice. Traditionally, a root of male fern was dug and all but five fronds were cut away. The five-fingered fern was known as ‘Lucky Hand’ or ‘St. John’s Hand.’ The Male Fern ‘Lucky Hand’ was dried and hardened by smoking it in a Midsummer’s Eve fire. Afterwards the ‘Lucky Hand’ was said to protect the owner and family from illness or evil spirits in the coming year.[296] Glass made from the ash of male fern was thought to possess magical qualities. His followers believed the ring worn by Genghis Khan contained male fern glass, and that it granted him the power to understand the ways of plants and the speech of birds.[297]
Syrian women about to be married bound the male fern (known to them as bride's gloves) to the bride's hands and dyed the hands with henna. The form of the fern remained on the hands as long as the henna dye lasted protecting the bride from magic. Another belief was that any pregnant women who happened to step on a male fern would miscarry.[298] Tartarean women used male fern root infusion as a contraceptive.[299]
Male fern is known to have an abortifacient effect related to its purgative powers. The abortifacient action of strong purgatives is believed to result from severe gastrointestinal irritation, which stimulates the pituitary gland to produce oxytocin, which causes uterine contractions. Male fern has been known since ancient times as a very strong vermifuge, driving out flatworm. To drive out worms, the person consumes only a fat-free diet for 2 - 3 days. Then, a dosage of male fern root tea is given. The oleoresin in male fern causes paralysis in the worm, and it loosens its grip on the intestine. Around two hours after taking the male fern tea, the person is given a saline laxative, such as epsom salts, which assists in expelling the worm from the body. Male fern is so potent and potentially toxic, its use is thought of as a last resort, only used after other vermifuges, easier to use and having no side effects, have failed to expel the worms.
Gathering: Male fern root should be gathered before sunrise (July-September) on a sunny and warm day that is fore. Dry root in the shade as quickly as possible. Carefully brush dirt off from root with a dry toothbrush as it dries. Male fern’s medicinal activity is impaired by storage; collect fresh male fern root for use immediately if at all possible. If the root is dried, only inner portions of the male fern root that have retained their original pale green color are used.
Preparation: Internal use of purgative male fern root decoction causes abortion due to severe gastrointestinal irritation. The use of male fern internally should be avoided due to serious side effects. Words to the Wise: Male fern can cause serious side effects even at therapeutic dosages. Fatal poisoning has resulted from male fern’s use as an abortifacient.
Watch for Signs of Toxicity Specific to Male Fern: Nausea, vomiting, cramping, headache, shortness of breath, albuminuria. and bilirubinuria. Toxic overdoses result in: loss of reflexes, optic neuritis, impairment of vision, temporary blindness, coma, convulsions, and death due to cardiac and respiratory failure.[300]
The following recipe is for external use only! Do not use internally! Simmer 3 – 6 oz. (100 - 150 g) of male fern root in 1 quart (1 L) of water, simmer five to ten minutes, then move pan away from heat and leave to infuse for another ten to fifteen minutes. As a footbath, this decoction may be helpful for menstrual cramps. Traditionally, this male fern decoction was used added to bath water for arthritis and on warm compresses to relieve pain associated with neuritis and rheumatism.
Mistletoe
In the palmy days of ‘Cranborne Chase,’ the season for killing ‘dry’ does began at Martinstide (Nov.11) and ended at Candlemas (Feb.2). Now it was customary with the keepers to produce the effect of natural sterility by inducing abortion in the female deer, and this they did by laying branches of mistletoe in their feeding grounds some two or three months before the season commenced. The plan succeeded, but it was said that the venison in such cases was deficient in flavor.
297
Charles Montgomery Skinner,