Fortune's Drynaria

Drynaria fortunei

Also known as Gu Sui Bu, Bone-Mending Fern, Fortune's Polypody, Rhizoma Drynariae, Monkey's Foot Fern

At a glance

Family

Polypodiaceae

Type

Epiphytic fern

Parts used

Rhizome (the thick, scaly creeping stem)

Size

Fronds 20 to 40 cm tall, with a creeping rhizome that can spread a foot or more along its host

Bloom

None. Like all ferns, it reproduces by spores rather than flowers, releasing them from the undersides of its fertile fronds

Habitat

Clings to tree trunks and mossy rocks in the humid forests of southern China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia

Acquisition

Buy

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditionally supports bone healing

Traditional lower-back and joint comfort

Historically used for tinnitus

Handsome, low-fuss ornamental fern

Traditional uses

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In traditional Chinese medicine, this shaggy-rooted fern earned the name Gu Sui Bu, which translates roughly to mender of broken bones, a reputation that grew from centuries of use in supporting fracture recovery and easing the deep, aching pain of injured joints. Practitioners traditionally turned to its rhizome as a kidney tonic as well, the kind of herb reached for when someone's hearing had grown faint with age, their teeth had loosened, or their lower back complained on cold mornings. It found its way into liniments for sprains and bruises long before modern medicine had a name for inflammation, valued simply because it seemed to help old injuries knit and settle. Today it remains one of the more distinctive rhizome herbs in the traditional pharmacy, prized as much for its story as its shape.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Eucommia bark (Du Zhong)
✦Achyranthes root (Niu Xi)
✦Psoralea fruit (Bu Gu Zhi)

Substitutes

✦Cibotium rhizome (Gou Ji)
✦Dipsacus root (Xu Duan)

Choose it when

“For the herb that has, for centuries, stood for patient healing and old bones made steady again.”

Did you know?

Folk legend traces the fern's name to a wounded soldier during China's Five Dynasties period, whose fractured bones were said to mend after treatment with this rhizome, prompting the era's emperor to rename it Gu Sui Bu on the spot, meaning mend the shattered bones.

Safety

Avoid during pregnancy and while nursing. Use caution alongside blood thinners or medications for bone or kidney conditions, and don't use it in place of medical care for an actual fracture.