Sensitive Fern
Propagation
Biocultural Value
The Haudenosaunee used sensitive fern to treat veneral disease, menstrual cramps, weakness after childbirth, and lactation issues. They also cooked the plant (most likely the fiddleheads) and ate it seasoned with salt, pepper, or butter. The Ojibwa prescribed a decoction of the dried, powdered rhizome to help milk flow in women.
Poisonous
Sensitive fern's toxic leaves can cause poisoning in horses, usually when the animals ingest hay containing the plant. Affected animals become uncoordinated and develop brain lesions.
Wildlife Value
A limited number of insects feed on sensitive fern, among them the aphid Amphorophora ampullata, larvae of the sawfly Hemitaxonus dubitatus, and larvae of sensitive fern borer moth (Papaipema inquaesita). Most mammalian herbivores avoid the foliage, although deer may feed on the infertile fronds to a limited extent.
