Let not misfortune befall me; my children don’t know their plants yet

“Orahmei, ayi peno raku kashii kadeti chiino ye ophih mosiih mahra loti chiino; ihnamei ovu chiito siihlo komole,” so asked a parent to God. Freely translated, it goes thus: ‘God, may misfortune not befall me and may accident not be my fate; my children do not know edible from inedible plants yet.” The statement sounds particularly foreboding as if the person knows the end is near.

The philosophy behind this traditional prayer has two important aspects. One is the universal awareness of any adult about the inevitability of death. And die all will, in their own turn. We resign ourselves to it because, in popular beliefs, that’s the will of God and whatever happens, happens according to His plan. The only thing we can do is to ask for God’s mercy to will it otherwise. The second part is about unconditional love of a parent. Death the parent fears because of the uncertainty of the fate of his or her children, unsure of what awaits them. He pleads to God to keep him safe, not for his sake but for the sake of his children, that is to say, until when his children can fend for themselves. Metaphorically, that’s when they know an edible from an inedible plant.

Beginning with this native philosophy, but more literally than metaphorically, I present here some species of fern that are edible lest you should die not knowing your edible plants like a child! I assume many of the readers of this post do not know what species of fern are edible and what are not, just like me trying to figure out which is which from the pictures. Some of the ferns, there are many species, that grow in the land of the Maos have been eaten as a food since time immemorial. The Mao people call them with different names – khoh pfuchow, pfuchow chojii, pfuchow cholih and more. I think the species given in the pictures below are found in Mao areas. Their botanical names are given, along with common names where available. Now, can any reader from Mao identify them with a Mao name?

Pfuchow is the generic name for fern in Mao language. Fern fiddleheads (the curled fronds of a young fern) are delicious and are a special treat as they are available for only a short time of the year in spring.

On the left: Diplazium esculentum, also called Athyrium esculentum.

Diplazium esculentum is one of the most common ferns and probably the most widely consumed in the world. Is it called khoh pfuchow in Mao language?

Source: http://madhusmitakpathak-mypage.blogspot.in/2010/08/herbs-and-vegetables-mostly-used-in.html

On the left: Another picture of Diplazium esculentum

Picture source: http://roseragai.blogspot.in/2010/07/edible-species-of-ferns.html

Another edible fern, Stenochlaena palustris (on the left)

Stenochlaena palustris is commonly eaten as a vegetable in India as well as South-east Asian countries. The Mao people cannot be far behind then! What is the Mao name for this fern? I think this may be the species we call pfuchow chojii. Or is pfuchow chojii the one below (Matteuccia stuthiopteris)? I am not sure.

Source: http://eol.org/data_objects/13471155

On the left: Fiddlehead of Stenochlaena palustris

Source: http://roseragai.blogspot.in/2010/07/edible-species-of-ferns.html

On the left: Fiddleheads of the Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

Matteuccia stuthiopteris prefers temperate regions; the land of the Maos is. It favours riverbanks and sandbars. Sandbars, riverbanks, yes, and especially near streams and moist places. Is this pfuchow chojii?

Source: http://northernshade.ca/2008/05/12/fascinating-fiddleheads/

On the left: The full grown fronds of Matteuccia stuthiopteris

Picture source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Matteuccia_struthiopteris.jpg 

On the left: Pteridium aquilinum

Pteridium aquilinum or bracken fern sends out large fronds with the rootstock travelling underground for a metre or more between fern plants. From the pictures, it looks a lot like the commonplace ferns growing over wasteland; but I think we don’t eat them. Perhaps we can. Pfuchow cholih is so called because each fern frond seems to be a standalone unlike other ferns which appear in clusters. The pfuchow cholih that I know doesn’t look like the one in the picture. Or is it? I am not so sure, anymore. I have missed fiddleheads, for a long time.

Source: http://sophy.u-3mrs.fr/Photo-cp/Pro/Pteridium_aquilinum_________12_04_2001_1.jpg 

On the left: The mature plant of Pteridium aquilinum

Picture source: http://web.ewu.edu/ewflora/Dennstaedtiaceae/pte_aqu1_p.jpg