The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Moonwort
(Botrychium lunaria), a small fern (height, 5–30 cm) of the family Ophioglossaceae. The moonwort grows in meadows, thickets, and cut forests in Eurasia, America, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
So, 'moonwort' was originally known as 'moanwort', which fits well with the description of this plant's medicinal use contained in Culpepper's Herbal - in that book it is said to be able to 'cure the moans', and is used as a treatment for depression.
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