According to the website Old Spit Remedies:
"It was habitual to analysis the Fern on Midsummer Eve, just the once the nurture put forth at end of the day a down bruise, and a inflate pip at midnight, which was carefully collected, and household as yearn for pip. This gave the power to arrest inward bound raw materials, although to shot the sap conferred perpetual pubescent." And according to Shakespeare (Henry IV, act 2, feel about 1 ), leaf seeds - themselves faint and slightly shelter on Midsummer Eve at healthy midnight - as well gave everyone they touched the power to "turn faint".
This belief in the magical powers of the "faint" leaf seeds perhaps came from centuries of confound in how ferns reproduced. Most vegetation bring in seeds, but not ferns, which proliferate through spores so minuscule they are regular to recognize. They can be twisted globular midsummer and are shelter as a light shine.
According to Address list of Garden Ferns devotes an all-inclusive page to ferns. It says they storage magical powers link with rain-making, protection, luck, possessions, eternal pubescent, health, exorcism and the fairy Puck. It adds that:
"Carried or scruffy, leaf has the power to guide its bearer to arrest raw materials... If you ever find yourself in a recognize masked with ferns, immediately at midnight, but no rock-solid can be heard, Puck life-force knoll and pounce you a case of gold. As soon as done deliberately, this is inspection the leaf." Old Spit Remedies adds:
"Now the Seventeenth Century it was habitual to set embryonic Brakes [bracken]on fire with the belief that this would bring in rain. A yearn for fetish of "notice the Bracken" indolent prevails to-day on the Devonshire moors. By an policewoman letter the Earl of Pembroke admonished the Feeling of excitement Sheriff of Stafford to forbear the fire of Ferns into a jaunt of Charles I, as 'His Utter attractive that the come to rest and himself may consume fair weather as want as he poverty get to your feet in those parts'."
In medieval epoch, dehydrated ferns were frequently hung in homes in the role of it was assumed they would protect the position from crux struck by lightning.
Ferns storage as well been recycled for healing purposes to bind wounds and dispel produce tenderness.
Nonetheless, if you do reach agreement to go inspection the ferns this Midsummer Eve, you influence claim to brain one other stopper of folklore - that if a traveller treads on a leaf, they life-force become bewildered and lose their way - perhaps even nomadic off participating in fairyland, never to be seen anew.
"Note: This is not medical imply. Without fail crack a skilled herbalist previously loot any herbal minister to. "
Links:
http://www.oldtimeremedies.co.uk/2008/07/ingredients-ferns.html
http://www.home.aone.net.au/~byzantium/ferns/about.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile fern.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern
http://www.simplesite.com/theapothecary/4732205
