''Aglaomorpha fortunei'', commonly known as gu-sui-bu, is a species of basket fern of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broader ...

. The plant is native to

Eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

, including eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

. This species is also more frequently cited by Asian studies by its

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

, ''Drynaria fortunei''; however, this is an

illegitimate name ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term, used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms for other ki ...

, the correct name in the genus ''Drynaria'' being ''Drynaria roosii''.

Description

''Aglaomorpha fortunei'' is an

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

(growing on trees) or epipetric (growing on rocks) plant. Like other species of ''

Aglaomorpha ''Aglaomorpha'' is the generic name of two groups of organisms. It can refer to: * ''Aglaomorpha'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Erebidae * ''Aglaomorpha'' (plant), a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

'', they possess two

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

types – a fertile foliage frond and a sterile nest frond. Sterile nest fronds are rounded shallowly-lobed reddish-brown fronds overlapping each other. They bear no sori and form a 'basket' characteristic of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. The fertile fronds are larger and deeply lobed. They bear 1 to 3 sori arranged on both sides of the central rib.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1856 as ''Polypodium fortunei'', with the name attributed to

Gustav Kunze Gustav Kunze (4 October 1793, Leipzig – 30 April 1851, Leipzig) was a German professor of zoology, an entomologist and botanist with an interest mainly in ferns and orchids. Kunze joined the Wernerian Natural History Society in Edinburgh in 181 ...

. In 1857, J. Smith transferred the species to the genus ''Drynaria'', using the name "''Drynaria fortunei''". However, although widely used, this is an

, because it had been published in 1855 for a different species. In 1992, Toshiyuki Nakaike published the

replacement name In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), new replacement name (or replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a scientific name that is created specifically to replace another scientific name, but only w ...

, ''Drynaria roosii'', which is the correct name for the species if placed in the genus ''Drynaria''. In the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, or PPG, is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the classification of pteridophytes (lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relation ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), the genus ''Aglaomorpha'' is placed in the subfamily

Drynarioideae Drynarioideae is a subfamily of the fern family Polypodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The subfamily is also treated as the tribe Drynarieae within a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae ''sens ...

of the family

Medicinal uses

Preparations from the

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s of ''Aglaomorpha fortunei'' are used in traditional

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

for aiding in the healing of

bone fractures A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

and for treating

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

Pharmacological study

Modern studies of ''Aglaomorpha fortunei'' have identified ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...

'' effects on isolated

bone cell An osteocyte, an oblate shaped type of bone cell with dendritic processes, is the most commonly found cell in mature bone. It can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion of them. Osteocytes do not divide and ...

Flavan-3-ol Flavan-3-ols (sometimes referred to as flavanols) are a subgroup of flavonoids. They are derivatives of flavans that possess a 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2''H''-chromen-3-ol skeleton. Flavan-3-ols are structurally diverse and include a range of compo ...

s and

propelargonidin Propelargonidins are a type of condensed tannins formed from epiafzelechin. They yield pelargonidin when depolymerized under oxidative conditions. Propelargonidins can be found in the rhizomes of the fern '' Drynaria fortunei'', in buckwheat (''Fa ...

s can be isolated from the rhizomes.Proliferative effects of flavan-3-ols and propelargonidins from rhizomes of Drynaria fortunei on MCF-7 and osteoblastic cells. Eun Ju Chang, Won Jung Lee, Sung Hee Cho and Sang Won Choi, Archives of Pharmacal Research, August 2003, Volume 26, Issue 8, pages 620-630,

Vernacular names

''Aglaomorpha fortunei'' is known as ''gu-sui-bu'' (骨碎補) in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

(

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "mender of shattered bones"). A reference to its use in

for healing broken bones. Other common names in

include ''mao-chiang'' ('hairy ginger'), ''shih-pan chiang'' ('stony plate ginger'), ''wang-chiang'', ''shih-chiang'', ''hou-chiang'' ('monkey ginger'), ''p'a shan hu'' (mountain-climbing tiger), ''feng chiang'', ''p-yen chiang'', ''hou-sheng chiang'', and ''hou chueh''. It is also known as ''gol-se-bo'' in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and ''Cốt toái bổ'' in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

References