Sensitive fern Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun beautiful spreading fern of eastern North America and eastern Asia naturalized in western Europe; pinnately divided fronds show a slight tendency to fold when touched; pinnules enclose groups of sori in beadlike lobes
    bead fern; Onoclea sensibilis.

WordNet


Definitions
  1. (Bot.), an American fern (Onoclea sensibilis), the leaves of which, when plucked, show a slight tendency to fold together.

Webster 1913