Matu’a pua’a
Matu’a pua’a – Microsorum parksii
Rhizome long creeping, thick (0.5 cm in diameter) covered with dark scales. Fronds 60-90 x 30 cm with widely winged rachis. Leathery lanceolate to oblong acuminate lobes, 10-20 x 2.5-4 cm. Large, circular sori.
Importance
The roots were used (and continue to be used) to relieve breaks, bone pain, and ovarian pain. It also apparently was occasionally consumed as food.
Propagation
It reproduces by rhizomes, in slow processes. There have been attempts to spread them en masse by other means, but the results so far have not been practical.
Ecology
Increasingly less common on the island, where it has been uncontrolledly extracted from wild sites. It is found in rocky areas and undergrowth, where years ago it covered large surfaces, as was the case in the Rano Kau Wetland.
Conservation
Classified as Vulnerable by the Chilean Ministry of the Environment (Wild Species Classification Regulations).
Distribution
Widely distributed in tropical Asia, Polynesia, Australia, Malaysia, tropical Africa, Madagascar. Indigenous in Rapa Nui.
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