STAG HORN FERN (Platycerium Coronarium)
Commonly
found in Malaysia, Thailand and South Burma, this large epiphyte becomes very
spectacular when full grown. It has two sets of leaves, the sterile nest leaves
and the fertile pendulous leaves. The nest leaves form a crown catching debris
and dead leaves. When the nest leaves die, the fingers wither and curl inwards
to grip the dead leaves as well as the previous set of nest leaves. The new
leaves form outside, trapping yet more falling leaves. The humus formed from
the rotting leaves supply nutrients for absorption by the roots, which grows up
into it. The roots are thus protected from dying out. The indented fertile fronds hang downwards
like that of the stag’s antlers. These are shed when old. This fern appears to
die out after a few years, with the nest leaves than providing a habitat for
other plant such as the Rabbit’s Foot Fern. In Malay folk medicine, the ashes
of the plant are used as a bodyrub to treat an enlarged spleen. Older Malays believe
that the Staghorn fern houses the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. The
Malays call it paku langsuyur, rumah langsuyur or semun bidadari (bidadari
means fairy, nymph, angel or a beautiful woman).
Do you know…the langsuyur is a Malay vampire generated by the malevolence of a woman dying in childbirth. It was believed that the vampire seeks out pregnant women for their blood or the blood of a newborn infant. It was supposed to take the form of a beautiful maiden with long hair that rustles as she flies in the dark to alight in a tall tree or in the nest of the Staghorn Fern or Birds Nest fern. Some people believed that the langsuyur could also take the form of a beautiful woman with a hole in her neck. Thus, to prevent a woman who died in childbirth from becoming such a vampire, glass beads were put in the corpse’s mouth to keep her from shrieking; hen’s eggs were laid under her armpits so that she would not lift them to fly; and needles placed in the palms of her hands so that she might not open and clench them to assist her flight
Do you know…the langsuyur is a Malay vampire generated by the malevolence of a woman dying in childbirth. It was believed that the vampire seeks out pregnant women for their blood or the blood of a newborn infant. It was supposed to take the form of a beautiful maiden with long hair that rustles as she flies in the dark to alight in a tall tree or in the nest of the Staghorn Fern or Birds Nest fern. Some people believed that the langsuyur could also take the form of a beautiful woman with a hole in her neck. Thus, to prevent a woman who died in childbirth from becoming such a vampire, glass beads were put in the corpse’s mouth to keep her from shrieking; hen’s eggs were laid under her armpits so that she would not lift them to fly; and needles placed in the palms of her hands so that she might not open and clench them to assist her flight