Polypodium glycyrrhiza very often associated with Acer macrophyllum. The fern is mycorrhizal, meaning it can form root associations with the hyphae of fungi. The sweet flavor of the rhizome was once attributed to the glycoside glycyrrhizin. However, a study has shown that the flavor may actually be due to polypodoside, which is 600 times sweeter than 6% sucrose solution. Licorice fern is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant. The cultivar 'Longicaudatum' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The licorice fern is sometimes valued for its licorice-flavored rhizome. Occasionally it is chewed, and it can also be brewed into
Chelone glabra glabra" is a popular browse plant for deer. It is also a foodplant for the sawflies "Macrophya nigra" and "Tenthredo grandis" (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), and a flea beetle in the genus Dibolia (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has also been shown to feed on it. It has been used as a method of birth control by Abenaki people. 11. Allan D. Nelson; Wayne J. Elisens (1999). "Polyploid evolution and biogeography in Chelone (Scrophulariaceae): morphological and isozyme evidence". "American Journal of Botany". Botanical Society of America. 86(10): 1487–1501. doi:10.2307/2656929. JSTOR 2656929. PMID 10523288. Chelone glabra Chelone glabra (white turtlehead) is an herbaceous species of plant