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Famine Foods
Compiled by Robert Freedman

MARATTIACEAE

Marattia douglassii (Presl.) Baker. Hawaii: thick, spongy bases of frond stems, which cover the round trunk, were cooked and eaten. Medicinal use: the bases - either raw or sliced - were soaked to produce a mucilaginous liquid used for laxative purposes. Vernacular name: Pala. Ref. CURREY, HANDY, NEAL.


Last update Thursday, March 5, 1998 by aw