NATURE NOTES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22519, 29 September 1938, Page 6 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES

Edith Burgess was lucky enough ta spend the school holidays at Lake Ohau. She noticed many interesting plants On the hills, among thhn bracken fern which she has sent for description. She menfiohs that the Maoris Used to eat the mats for food. This, practice is Mflected in the second part of its botanical name—PteridiUfin esCtilentuffl. Everybody should be inter-

fated in bracken fern for at least two reasons—its great importance m the life of the ancient Maori and «* great importahde as the Worst weed in New Zealand to-day. Many plants, of which twitched •Hd calilornian thistle are wellknown examples, spread by means of creeping underground stems of rhizomes. From these rhizomes MdUi are Sent down into the soil •an shoots and leaves tip into the •if. The; so-called ferfi root is actually a rhizome Which may grow s®a* the surface or Idin. to l2in •own and may.be very thin of up to. lift in thickness. It creeps widely in all directions, branches freely, and sends up leaves or fronds at frequent intervals. On

BRACKEN FERN

(By L. W. McCaskill)

the outside if is smooth to the touch tad dark in colour; inside, if broken across it is quite gummy. From the rhiiotne numerous threadlike roots -are sent down into the Soil. / The stalk of the leaf or frond may be only a few inches long, especially in poor dry soil. As the soil gets richer and the shade becomes denser the stalk lengthens and thickens until it may reach a

height of 20ft. If it does reach this height it is hot able to support itself without the aid of staall trees to lean against. At first, the stalk is thickly clothed with goldenbrown hails, later. When . fully developed, it is smooth, hdrd, aha shining. The frond itself is curled as it conies through th§ ground. At first like the Stalk, it iS soft aftd covered With golden-brown hairs, especially near the ground. Afterwards it becomes smooth and hard, dull green above, and paler below. The frond is divided up Into leaflets each Of which is again divided. The lowest pair is the largest and most compound, the upper ones gradually decreasing in size until the

upper parts are simple and like the teeth of a comb. •

Ferns do not have flowers, therefore they cannot produce seeds. Instead they produce spores which are one-celled bodies of microscopic size. These spores are produced in enormous numbers by sporangia or Spore-cases which in turn are closely packed in groups known as sori. These sori vary so much in appearance, shape, size, and their position on the frond that they are made the basis of the classification, of ferns. In bracken the sori will be found on the under side of the frond, near the margin, and protected by the edge which curves downwards. When ripe the spores are scattered by the wind; then they fall to the ground and, if moisture is available, germinate to produce a small, green, heartshaped plant known as a ptothallus. On the underside of the prothallus are produced male and female organs. From a fertilised egg cell grows up the bracken plant as we know it. Bracken fern is abundant throughout the New Zealand botanical area which includes, besides North, South, and Stewart Islands, all the outlying groups from the Kermadecs to the 'Auckland and Campbell Islands. When the. white man arrived in New Zealand there were enormous areas of fern, especially in the North Island. Even much of this Was not primitive, as the old Maoris told Us of huge fires which destroyed large areas of forest subsequently replaced by fern. Much of our present grassland Was made from this original fern country. The fern Was burnt in the early autumn and grass and clover seed sown by hand. Between autumn and early spring fern lies dormant in the ground. This gives time for the germination and growth of grass and clover by September. But then new fern leaves are very rapidly developed and they would soon smother the useful plants if left alone. However, as soon as the young fetn fronds burst through the soil large numbers of sheep or cattle are grazed on the area to tramp and break the new fronds. The stock are kept on the ground until the lack of feed or possibly some poisonous effects of the fern leads to a loss in condition of the animals. The area is theft spelled until the fern begins to put forth fresh leaves, when the crushing is repeated. According to the efficiency with which this process can be carried on the fern becomes so weakened the grassland takes its place. Not m all cases does a single burning give success; several bufnings and sowings may be necessary arid in such a case manuka may come in and take charge. „ . . In the spring, after forest is burnt in most parts of NeW Zealand, bracken fern plants appear. They would soon overtop and smother the freshly sown grass if crushing as previously mentioned Were not carried out. In fact we have millions of ‘acres of grassland where the farmer is constantly fighting ferft. Unfortunately heavy] grazing and burning deplete thei soil Of its surface layer of humus With the result that fern-fighting eventually means efosiOn With all its serious effects. „ Although the settler and farmer look On fern Ss his most serious enemy, the aftcieht Maori thought of it as his best friend. NO,matte# hOw other crops might fail, even if it were a poor yea# for birds,.o# berries, dr fish, fern root .would always provide a reserve of food. The name of the plant was rauaruhe or rahurahu;, the. root was known aS roi Or more often aruhe. All fetn root was ftot suitable for food, many different varieties, being recognised and named according to

their quality. Sortie of the names were paranui, pawhati, puahou, rriotuhanga, manehu, and paka. The best roots, thick, brittle, and containing few black fibres were found growing on rich alluvial ground. Such good diggings would be strictly preserved, and many battles were fought for the possession of specially productive areas. The fixed tithes for digging were spring or early summer. Some tribes believed in burning oft the surface growth in August. Whether or not it improved the quality of the rOot, it must have lightened considerably the effort required in clearing the ground. But it was essential that the wood of two spedial plants should be Used to ffre the fem. These were the Kareao of supplejack and hinahina or whiteywood.

As the roots (really the underground stems) were exposed by the long wooden spade or ko, they were carefully lifted, tied in bundles, and conveyed to the village where they were stacked on a kind of stage or rack to dry. Drying would take some weeks, after which it Was selected into qualities much as we do bur Wheat, ofaions, and potatoes. These qualities were chosen for different grades of society. Thus, the best grade would bb destined for the chiefs, the next quality for the warriors, and so on down the scale to visitors, corrtmon people, women, and slaves. Usually the dried material Was stored in a special pit; ih sortie cases the practice was adopted of standing the bundles in a creek or pOnd, Where the material would keep fresh lor a surprisingly long time. .To prepare the material for eating it was roasted before a fire and the hard outer coat removed, ft was then pounded on a stbne anvil with a short wooden beater. Sometimes, if food had been in short supply, it would be eaten at this stage, and the hard indigestible part discarded before swallowing, A better type of material was obtained by picking out the fibres and giving another pounding and roasting. One method sometimes followed was to mix this starchy material with water into cakes or rolls and roast them at a fire. An especially tasty article was made by dippirig these rolls into the juice obtained from tutu berries. The chewing needed before swallowing fern-roOt, no matter how well prepared, must have been very hard on the teeth, hut the food was very sustaining and Was often the only article taken on overland journeys and long voyages.

Though not a luxurious diet, fernroot Was always obtainable and was easily stored. An old saying, freely translated, said: “Fern-root diggers survive when parrot-snarers are in sore straits,” meaning that birds could be taken only in. the proper season, hut fern-root is always available if required. The fable of the fern-root and the kumara further illustrates this point. “The fern-rOot and the kutfiara were one day bantering each other; at last the kumara rudely said, ‘Thou art an unsightly thing, containing but small sustenance for long eating.’ Then the fern-root answered triumphantly, ‘Although I am but an unsightly thing to look at, carry me to the water and soak and prepare me properly. When the sea breezes blow, then it will be nothing else but the joyful Cry, preparel prepare!’ ” The meaning intended Was that in the SUrnmer season when the sea breezes blow dally aiid the fish in large shoals approach the coast and are caught, and when, too, there are no kumara to be had, then the cry continually Would be “Prepare the fern-root as a delightful ac* companiment to our fresh fish.”