''Cyclosorus interruptus'', the Hottentot fern or swamp shield-fern, is a fern in the family

Thelypteridaceae Thelypteridaceae is a family of about 900 species of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae. Alternatively, the family may be submerged in a ...

. It is native to the tropics and subtropics in many parts of the world. In the New World, it is found from Mexico to Argentina, and in the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

. In the Old World, it is found in India, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and South Africa. It is also found in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and other islands in the Pacific Ocean. The various populations differ with respect to genetic cytotypes, glands, pubescence, and frond size. Its habitat is the vicinity of freshwater swamps and it may reach in height.

History

In 1770 during the

first voyage of James Cook The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean aboard HMS ''Endeavour'', from 1768 to 1771. It was the first of three Pacific voyages of which James Cook was the commander. The ...

, it was collected by Joseph Banks and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil. Biography ...

not far from

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

. Despite

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

, it still occurs in a park in the Sydney bayside suburb of

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

. The specific epithet ''interruptus'' is from the Latin, and refers to the sori.Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 320 The sori are in zig-zag rows or a v-shaped series along the frond margins, and are protected by a hairy, round or kidney shaped

indusium A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This New Latin word is from Ancient ...

. This plant appeared first appeared in the scientific literature as ''Pteris interrupta'' in 1794, published by the German taxonomist

Carl Ludwig Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was al ...

. In 1810, it also appeared in the ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'' as ''Nephrodium propinquum'', authored by the prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown. However, this plant has undergone considerable review, name changes, and taxonomic debate.

Cultivation

''C. interruptus'' is likely to be a useful landscape plant if kept damp and in gardens free of frost. There are reports that the rhizome is edible.

Uses as herbal medicine

''C. interruptus'' is used in herbal medicine for sores,

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the si ...

gonorrhea Gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Infected men may experience pain or burning with u ...

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three ph ...

, and

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

.Oyen LPA (2010) Cyclosorus interruptus (Willd.) H.Itô. Prota 16: Fibres/Plantes à fibres, eds Brink M & Achigan-Dako EG (PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.).

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5199017 Thelypteridaceae Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Flora of South America Flora of Africa Flora of Australia Flora of Hawaii Flora of New Zealand Flora of tropical Asia Flora of China Plants described in 1794 Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Willdenow Medicinal plants