Metuapua‘a carries many names and a long record of traditional use across the Pacific. That record includes both remedies and reports of poisoning.
- Local names
- Metuapua'a (Austral Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Society Islands), Mo'omo'o (Austral Islands), Papamoko (Marquesas Islands), Kikipa (Tuamotu Islands)
- Habitat
- Motu and shore
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
- Biogeographical status
- Native
- Life form
- Fern
- Abundance
- Very common
- Ecosystem
- Mixed forest and backshore
About this species
The guide describes this fern, recorded under numerous botanical synonyms, as one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the Society Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific. It associates the fern with fati: fractures, sprains, impacts, and bruising, described as a hidden illness.
Baths containing the fern appear in accounts of ira, associated with fever, convulsions, and nervousness, particularly in children. Fronds without spores were also used in baths for prickly heat and eczema. The guide records purgative uses in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.
Root preparations were associated with wound care. In the Marquesas, roots combined with coconut milk appear in accounts of women’s intimate hygiene. Grepin is cited for preparations involving other plants for coughs and asthma.
These are ethnobotanical records, not clinical evidence. The source also cites Pétard (1972) for abortifacient effects at high quantities and reports several poisonings. Those cautions are part of the plant’s recorded history.
Butaud J.F., 2013. Guide floristique, Vallées tahitiennes. Direction de l’environnement, 2e édition, 60 p.
Butaud J.F., 2013. Guide floristique, Tuamotu de l’ouest. Direction de l’environnement, 2e édition, 51 p.
Butaud J.F., 2014. Guide floristique, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai, Raivavae. Direction de l’environnement, 1e édition, 132 p.
Grepin F., Grepin M., 1870-1880. La médecine traditionnelle par F. Grepin et M. Grepin. Direction des Centres d'Expérimentations Nucléaires. Service Mixte de Contrôle Biologique, 151 p.
Ho R., 2007. Etude des ecdystéroïdes de fougères médicinales de Polynésie française, metuapua’a (Microsorum scolopendria et Microsorum membranifolium): composition chimique, biodiversité et biosynthèse. Thèse de doctorat en chimie moléculaire, école doctorale Milieux Insulaires Ultra-Matins (ED 469), 262 p.
Jost X., Ansel J.L., Raharivelomanana P., Butaud J.F., 2016. Ethnobotanical survey of cosmetic plants used in Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine.
Moretti C., Butaud J.F., Girardi C., Ollier C., Ingert N., Raharivelomanana P., Weniger B., 2015. Médecine et pharmacopée végétale traditionnelles aux îles Marquises (Polynésie française). Ethnopharmacologia, n°53, août 2015
Petard P., 1972. Raau Tahiti: The use of Polynesian medicinal plants in Tahitian medicine. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia, 66 p.
