Nephrolepis biserrata

{{Short description|Species of fern}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Nephrolepis biserrata - Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg - DSC08168.JPG

| status = G5

| status_system = TNC

| genus = Nephrolepis

| species = biserrata

| authority = (Sw.) Schott

}}

{{Commons category|Nephrolepis biserrata}}

Nephrolepis biserrata (giant swordfern, 长叶肾蕨) is a tropical fern, native to Florida, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, South America, Africa, and southeast Asia.

Its stipes are grayish brown and 10–50 cm × about 4 mm in size, with brownish-green, papery lamina that are 14–30 cm wide × 0.7–2 m in length, but has occasionally attained a length of twenty-seven feet (eight meters).{{cite journal | last= Benedict | first= R. C. | date= July–September 1953 | title= The Tallest U.S. Fern | journal= American Fern Journal | volume= 43 | issue= 3 | page= 118 | doi= 10.2307/1545768 | jstor= 1545768 }} This is the largest of all the sword ferns and it often is labeled Macho Fern at nurseries.https://www.etsy.com/listing/874738483/macho-fern-potted-nephrolepis-biserrata macho fern, Nephrolepis biserrata after its aggressive growth nature when compared to ferns such as the Boston Sword Fern, Nephrolepis exaltata that is planted more commonly.

N. biserrata is known as asaha or likekele in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where young leaves are cooked and eaten as a condiment or leafy vegetable.{{cite journal |last1=Termote |first1=Céline |last2=Van Damme |first2=Patrick |last3=Dhed’a Djailo |first3=Benoît |title=Eating from the wild: Turumbu, Mbole and Bali traditional knowledge on non-cultivated edible plants, District Tshopo, DRCongo |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |date=14 September 2010 |volume=58 |issue=4 |page=607 |doi=10.1007/s10722-010-9602-4 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-010-9602-4 |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=en |issn=1573-5109 |oclc=5659511118}}