fern : Idioms & Phrases

• noun mat-forming lithophytic or terrestrial fern with creeping rootstocks and large pinnatifid fronds found throughout North America and Europe and Africa and east Asia
  golden maidenhair; sweet fern; golden polypody; common polypody; adder's fern; Polypodium vulgare.
  

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• noun ferns with fertile spikes shaped like a snake's tongue
  adder's tongue.
  

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• noun southeastern United States to northern Mexico and Jamaica
  Alabama lip fern; Cheilanthes alabamensis.
  

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• noun a lady fern with deeply cut leaf segments; found in the Rocky Mountains
  Athyrium distentifolium.
  

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• noun hardy palmately branched North American fern with divergent recurved branches borne on lustrous dark reddish stipes
  American maidenhair fern; Adiantum pedatum.
  

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• noun rock-inhabiting fern of northern North America growing in massive tufts and having fronds resembling parsley
  Cryptogramma acrostichoides; American rock brake.
  

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• noun chiefly lithophytic or epiphytic fern of North America and east Asia
  rock polypody; rock brake; Polypodium virgianum.
  

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• noun small short-lived fern of Central and South America
  annual fern; Anogramma leptophylla.
  

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• noun ferns that grow in water
  aquatic fern.
  

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• noun a fernlike plant native to South Africa
  Asparagus setaceous; Asparagus plumosus.
  

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• noun feathery fern of tropical Asia and Malaysia
  ball fern; Davallia Mariesii; Davalia bullata mariesii; Davalia bullata.
  

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• noun fast-growing sturdy Japanese fern; cultivated for their attractive broad dark-green pinnate fronds
  Coniogramme japonica.
  

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• noun tropical American fern cultivated for its finely divided greyish-green foliage; West Indies and southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil
  basket fern; Nephrolepis pectinata.
  
• noun giant epiphytic or lithophytic fern; Asia to Polynesia and Australia
  Drynaria rigidula.
  

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• 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.
  

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• noun epiphytic fern with large fronds; Taiwan and Philippines
  Aglaomorpha meyeniana.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Phegopteris having deeply cut triangular fronds
  

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• noun delicate endemic Bermudian fern with creeping rootstock
  Adiantum bellum; Bermuda maidenhair.
  

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• noun North American fern often bearing bulbils on the leaflets
  bulblet bladder fern; berry fern; Cystopteris bulbifera.
  

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• noun tropical Old World or Australian epiphytic fern frequently forming tufts in tree crotches
  Asplenium nidus.
  

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• noun cliff brake of California and Baja California having purple-brown leafstalks
  Pellaea mucronata; Pellaea ornithopus.
  

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• noun a showy tree fern of New Zealand and Australia having a crown of pinnated fronds with whitish undersides
  sago fern; Cyathea medullaris; black tree fern.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Cystopteris characterized by a hooded indusium or bladderlike membrane covering the sori
  

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• noun a sword fern with arching or drooping pinnate fronds; a popular houseplant
  Nephrolepis exaltata; Nephrolepis exaltata bostoniensis.
  

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• noun fern of eastern North America with pale green fronds and an aroma like hay
  hay-scented fern; Dennstaedtia punctilobula; hay-scented; boulder fern.
  

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• noun North American fern whose more or less evergreen leathery fronds are covered with pale brown chafflike scales
  Braun's holly fern; Polystichum braunii.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Trichomanes having large pinnatifid often translucent fronds; most are epiphytic on tree branches and twigs or terrestrial on mossy banks
  bristle fern.
  

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• noun delicate fern widely distributed in North America and European having thin pinnatifid fronds with brittle stems
  brittle fern; brittle bladder fern; Cystopteris fragilis.
  

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• noun delicate fern widely distributed in North America and European having thin pinnatifid fronds with brittle stems
  brittle fern; brittle bladder fern; Cystopteris fragilis.
  

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• noun tropical American fern with broad pinnae; widely cultivated
  Adiantum tenerum; brittle maidenhair.
  

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• noun beech fern of North American woodlands having straw-colored stripes
  Phegopteris hexagonoptera; Thelypteris hexagonoptera; broad beech fern; Dryopteris hexagonoptera.
  

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• noun European shield fern
  Dryopteris dilatata.
  

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• noun any of various ferns of the genera Dryopteris or Polystichum or Lastreopsis having somewhat shield-shaped coverings on the sori
  buckler fern.
  

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• noun North American fern often bearing bulbils on the leaflets
  bulblet bladder fern; berry fern; Cystopteris bulbifera.
  

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• noun North American fern often bearing bulbils on the leaflets
  bulblet bladder fern; berry fern; Cystopteris bulbifera.
  

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• noun fern of New Zealand and Australia having trailing fronds with dark green buttonlike leaflets
  Pellaea rotundifolia.
  
• noun Jamaican fern having round buttonlike bulbils
  Tectaria cicutaria.
  

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• noun large branching biennial herb native to Eurasia and Africa and adventive in North America having large fernlike leaves and white flowers; usually found in damp habitats; all parts extremely poisonous
  poison parsley; poison hemlock; hemlock; Nebraska fern; Conium maculatum; California fern.
  

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• noun fern of the Canary Islands and Madeira
  Davallia canariensis.
  

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• noun small free-floating aquatic fern from the eastern United States to tropical America; naturalized in western and southern Europe
  Carolina pond fern; Azolla caroliniana; floating fern.
  

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• noun fern with shorter and narrower leaves than Florida strap fern; Florida to West Indies and Mexico and south to Argentina
  Central American strap fern; Campyloneurum augustifolium.
  

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• noun a fern of the genus Woodwardia having the sori in chainlike rows
  

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• noun North American evergreen fern having pinnate leaves and dense clusters of lance-shaped fronds
  dagger fern; Polystichum acrostichoides; canker brake; Christmas fern.
  

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• (Bot.), an evergreen North American fern (Aspidium acrostichoides), which is much used for decoration in winter.

Webster 1913

• noun New World fern having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds; the early uncurling fronds are edible
  fiddlehead; Osmunda cinnamonea; cinnamon fern.
  

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• noun tropical Africa to Australasia and Polynesia
  Microsorium punctatum.
  

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• noun any of several ferns of the genus Lygodium that climb by twining
  

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• (Bot.), a delicate North American fern (Lygodium palmatum), which climbs several feet high over bushes, etc., and is much sought for purposes of decoration.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical fern widespread in Old World; naturalized in Jamaica and Florida
  climbing maidenhair; climbing maidenhair fern; Lygodium microphyllum.
  

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• noun any of several water ferns of the genus Marsilea having four leaflets
  pepperwort.
  

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• noun evergreen fern of California and Baja California
  Pellaea andromedifolia.
  

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• noun commonly cultivated fern of Australia and southeastern Asia and Polynesia
  Platycerium alcicorne; common staghorn fern; Platycerium bifurcatum.
  

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• noun common epiphytic or sometimes terrestrial fern having pale yellow-green strap-shaped leaves; Florida to West Indies and Mexico and south to Uruguay
  Florida strap fern; cow-tongue fern.
  

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• noun New Zealand with pinnate fronds and a densely woolly stalks; sometimes included in genus Todea
  Leptopteris superba; Prince-of-Wales plume; Todea superba; crape fern; Prince-of-Wales feather.
  

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• noun delicate fern of the eastern United States having a twining stem and palmately-lobed sterile fronds and forked fertile fronds
  creeping fern; Lygodium palmatum.
  

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• noun fern of rain forests of tropical Australia and New Zealand and South Africa
  Todea barbara; crepe fern.
  

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• noun rare small fern of northeastern North America having numerous slender spiraling fronds and forming dense tufts
  Schizaea pusilla; curly grass.
  

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• noun North American evergreen fern having pinnate leaves and dense clusters of lance-shaped fronds
  dagger fern; Polystichum acrostichoides; canker brake; Christmas fern.
  

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• noun of North America and Eurasia
  Botrychium matricariifolium; daisy-leaved grape fern.
  

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• noun of North America and Eurasia
  Botrychium matricariifolium; daisy-leaved grape fern.
  

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• noun fern with erect fronds of Europe and western North America; often cultivated for deer browse
  Blechnum spicant.
  

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• noun large deeply rooted fern of worldwide distribution with upright bipinnate compound tufted fronds
  French bracken; royal osmund; Osmunda regalis; king fern; ditch fern.
  

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• noun commonly cultivated fern of Australia and southeastern Asia and Polynesia
  Platycerium alcicorne; common staghorn fern; Platycerium bifurcatum.
  

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• noun fern of Europe and Asia Minor having short slender rhizome and densely tufted bright green fronds resembling parsley
  European parsley fern; Cryptogramma crispa.
  

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• noun North American evergreen fern having pinnate leaves and dense clusters of lance-shaped fronds
  dagger fern; Polystichum acrostichoides; canker brake; Christmas fern.
  
• noun North American fern with evergreen fronds
  Dryopteris marginalis; leatherleaf wood fern; evergreen wood fern.
  

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• noun large Australasian fern with fanlike repeatedly forked fronds; sometimes placed in genus Gleichenia
  fan fern; Gleichenia flabellata; Sticherus flabellatus.
  

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• noun named for a country house in Barbados where it was discovered
  Farley maidenhair fern; Adiantum tenerum farleyense; Barbados maidenhair; Farley maidenhair.
  

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• noun east Asian fern having fronds shaped like tongues; sometimes placed in genus Cyclophorus
  felt fern; Cyclophorus lingua; Pyrrosia lingua.
  

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Female fern

Definitions

1. (Bot.), a common species of fern with large decompound fronds (Asplenium Filixfæmina), growing in many countries; lady fern. ✍ The names male fern and female fern were anciently given to two common ferns; but it is now understood that neither has any sexual character. Syn. -- Female, Feminine. We apply female to the sex or individual, as opposed to male; also, to the distinctive belongings of women; as, female dress, female form, female character, etc.; feminine, to things appropriate to, or affected by, women; as, feminine studies, employments, accomplishments, etc. "Female applies to sex rather than gender, and is a physiological rather than a grammatical term. Feminine applies to gender rather than sex, and is grammatical rather than physiological." Latham.

Webster 1913

• noun pteridophytes of other classes than Filicopsida
  

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• noun families of ferns and fern allies
  

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• noun genera of ferns and fern allies
  

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• . (Zoöl.) (a) The European goatsucker. (b) The short-eared owl. Prov. Eng.

Webster 1913

• noun southeastern Indian cycad with palmlike foliage
  false sago; Cycas circinalis.
  

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• noun small graceful palm with reedlike stems and leaf bases clothed with loose coarse fibers
  bamboo palm; Rhapis excelsa; miniature fan palm.
  

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• noun the asexual spore of ferns that resembles dust; once thought to be seeds and to make the possessor invisible
  

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• a fern thicket. Eng. R. Browning.

Webster 1913

• noun New World fern having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds; the early uncurling fronds are edible
  fiddlehead; Osmunda cinnamonea; cinnamon fern.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Hymenophyllum growing in tropical humid regions and having translucent leaves
  film fern.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Trichomanes having large pinnatifid often translucent fronds; most are epiphytic on tree branches and twigs or terrestrial on mossy banks
  bristle fern.
  
• noun any fern of the genus Hymenophyllum growing in tropical humid regions and having translucent leaves
  film fern.
  

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• noun hardy palmately branched North American fern with divergent recurved branches borne on lustrous dark reddish stipes
  American maidenhair fern; Adiantum pedatum.
  

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• noun pantropical aquatic fern
  Ceratopteris thalictroides.
  
• noun aquatic fern of tropical America often used in aquariums
  Ceratopteris pteridioides; water sprite.
  
• noun small free-floating aquatic fern from the eastern United States to tropical America; naturalized in western and southern Europe
  Carolina pond fern; Azolla caroliniana; floating fern.
  

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• noun common epiphytic or sometimes terrestrial fern having pale yellow-green strap-shaped leaves; Florida to West Indies and Mexico and south to Uruguay
  Florida strap fern; cow-tongue fern.
  

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• noun slender fern of northern North America with shining chestnut-colored stipes and bipinnate fronds with usually distinct marginal sori
  Woodsia alpina; Alpine woodsia; northern woodsia.
  

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• noun Australasian fern with clusters of sporangia on stems of fertile fronds
  Helminthostachys zeylanica.
  
• noun any fern of the genus Osmunda: large ferns with creeping rhizomes; naked sporangia are on modified fronds that resemble flower clusters
  osmund.
  

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• a genus of showy ferns (Osmunda), with conspicuous bivalvular sporangia. They usually grow in wet places.

Webster 1913

• noun delicate fern widely distributed in North America and European having thin pinnatifid fronds with brittle stems
  brittle fern; brittle bladder fern; Cystopteris fragilis.
  

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• noun fern or northern Eurasia and North America having fragrant fronds
  Dryopteris fragrans; fragrant cliff fern; fragrant shield fern.
  

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• noun fern or northern Eurasia and North America having fragrant fronds
  Dryopteris fragrans; fragrant cliff fern; fragrant shield fern.
  

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• noun fern or northern Eurasia and North America having fragrant fronds
  Dryopteris fragrans; fragrant cliff fern; fragrant shield fern.
  

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• noun highly variable species of very large primitive ferns of the Pacific tropical areas with high rainfall
  angiopteris; Angiopteris evecta.
  

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• noun large scrambling fern forming large patches to 18 feet high; Pacific region and China
  Diplopterygium longissimum.
  

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• noun North American fern with narrow fronds on yellowish leafstalks
  narrow-leaved spleenwort; Diplazium pycnocarpon; silvery spleenwort; Athyrium pycnocarpon.
  

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• noun named for a country house in Barbados where it was discovered
  Farley maidenhair fern; Adiantum tenerum farleyense; Barbados maidenhair; Farley maidenhair.
  

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• noun fern of West Indies and South America having fronds with bright golden-yellow undersides
  Pityrogramma chrysophylla.
  

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• noun tropical American fern having fronds with light golden undersides
  Pityrogramma calomelanos aureoflava.
  
• noun stout tropical swamp fern (especially tropical America) having large fronds with golden yellow sporangia covering the undersides
  Acrostichum aureum; golden fern.
  

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• noun North American fern with a blackish lustrous stipe
  Dryopteris goldiana; Goldie's fern; Goldie's shield fern.
  

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• noun North American fern with a blackish lustrous stipe
  Dryopteris goldiana; Goldie's fern; Goldie's shield fern.
  

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• noun North American fern with a blackish lustrous stipe
  Dryopteris goldiana; Goldie's fern; Goldie's shield fern.
  

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• noun a fern of the genus Botrychium having a fertile frond bearing small grapelike clusters of spore cases
  

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• noun epiphytic fern found in lowland forests of tropical America
  Vittaria lineata; grass fern.
  

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• noun small North American evergreen fern whose stipes and lower frond surfaces are densely wooly
  Cheilanthes lanosa; hairy lip fern.
  

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• noun tropical American fern with coarsely lobed to palmatifid fronds
  Doryopteris pedata.
  

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• noun any of several ferns of the genus Blechnum
  

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• noun a variety of bristle fern
  Trichomanes boschianum.
  

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• noun either of two ferns of the genus Davallia having a soft grey hairy rootstock
  

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Hare's"-foot` fern`

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A species of fern (Davallia Canariensis) with a soft, gray, hairy rootstock; -- whence the name.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical American terrestrial fern with leathery lanceolate fronds; sometimes placed in genus Polybotrya
  Olfersia cervina; Polybotria cervina; Polybotrya cervina; hart's-tongue.
  
• noun Eurasian fern with simple lanceolate fronds
  Phyllitis scolopendrium; Asplenium scolopendrium; hart's-tongue.
  
• noun common epiphytic or sometimes terrestrial fern having pale yellow-green strap-shaped leaves; Florida to West Indies and Mexico and south to Uruguay
  Florida strap fern; cow-tongue fern.
  

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• noun delicate fern of the eastern United States having a twining stem and palmately-lobed sterile fronds and forked fertile fronds
  creeping fern; Lygodium palmatum.
  

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• noun fern of eastern North America with pale green fronds and an aroma like hay
  hay-scented fern; Dennstaedtia punctilobula; hay-scented; boulder fern.
  

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• noun any of various ferns of the genus Polystichum having fronds with texture and gloss like holly
  
• noun tropical Old World fern having glossy fronds suggestive of holly; sometimes placed in genus Polystichum
  Polystichum aculeatum; Cyrtomium aculeatum.
  

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• noun fern of tropical Asia having round buttonlike bulbils
  Tectaria macrodonta.
  

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• noun North American fern having tall erect pinnate fronds and a few sporogenous pinnae at or near the center of the fertile fronds
  Osmunda clatonia.
  

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• noun small short-lived fern of Central and South America
  annual fern; Anogramma leptophylla.
  

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• noun large fern of New Zealand having kidney-shaped fronds
  Trichomanes reniforme.
  

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• noun large stout fern of extreme western Europe
  Trichomanes speciosum.
  

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• noun fern of rain forests of tropical Australia and New Zealand and South Africa
  Todea barbara; crepe fern.
  
• noun large deeply rooted fern of worldwide distribution with upright bipinnate compound tufted fronds
  French bracken; royal osmund; Osmunda regalis; king fern; ditch fern.
  

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• noun small tufted fern of northwestern America
  Cheilanthes gracillima.
  

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• noun most widely grown fern of the genus Athyrium for its delicate foliage
  Athyrium filix-femina.
  

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• . (Bot.) See Female fern, under Female, and Illust. of Fern.

Webster 1913

• noun stout tropical swamp fern (especially tropical America) having large fronds with golden yellow sporangia covering the undersides
  Acrostichum aureum; golden fern.
  
• noun widely distributed fern of tropical southern hemisphere having leathery pinnatifid fronds
  leatherleaf fern; Rumohra adiantiformis; leather fern; Polystichum adiantiformis.
  

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• noun widely distributed fern of tropical southern hemisphere having leathery pinnatifid fronds
  leatherleaf fern; Rumohra adiantiformis; leather fern; Polystichum adiantiformis.
  

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• noun North American fern with evergreen fronds
  Dryopteris marginalis; leatherleaf wood fern; evergreen wood fern.
  

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• noun European fern with leathery and sparsely hairy fronds
  Botrychium multifidum.
  

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• noun fern having rootstock of a sweetish flavor
  Polypodium glycyrrhiza.
  

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• (Bot.), a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor.

Webster 1913

• noun yellow-green fern of rocky areas of northern hemisphere
  Gymnocarpium robertianum; limestone fern.
  

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• noun any of various terrestrial ferns of the genus Cheilanthes; cosmopolitan in arid and semiarid temperate or tropical regions
  lipfern.
  

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• noun beech fern of North America and Eurasia
  Dryopteris phegopteris; narrow beech fern; Phegopteris connectilis; long beech fern; Thelypteris phegopteris.
  

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• noun any of various small to large terrestrial ferns of the genus Adiantum having delicate palmately branched fronds
  maidenhair.
  

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• noun fern of North America and Europe whose rhizomes and stalks yield an oleoresin used to expel tapeworms
  Dryopteris filix-mas.
  

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• (Bot.), a fern of the genus Aspidium (A. Filixmas), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and A. athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female.

Webster 1913

• noun North American fern with evergreen fronds
  Dryopteris marginalis; leatherleaf wood fern; evergreen wood fern.
  

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• noun fern having pinnatifid fronds and growing in wet places; cosmopolitan in north temperate regions
  Thelypteris palustris; Dryopteris thelypteris.
  

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• noun delicate feathery shield fern of the eastern United States; sometimes placed in genus Thelypteris
  Parathelypteris simulata; Thelypteris simulata.
  

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• noun fern of northeastern North America
  Dryopteris thelypteris pubescens; Thelypteris palustris pubescens; meadow fern.
  

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• noun small free-floating aquatic fern from the eastern United States to tropical America; naturalized in western and southern Europe
  Carolina pond fern; Azolla caroliniana; floating fern.
  

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• noun fern of rocky mountainous areas of hemisphere
  Cystopteris montana.
  

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• noun common European mountain fern having fragrant lemon or balsam scented fronds
  Dryopteris oreopteris; Oreopteris limbosperma.
  

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• noun a fern of the genus Dryopteris
  Dryopteris oreades.
  

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• noun fern of Europe and Asia Minor having short slender rhizome and densely tufted bright green fronds resembling parsley
  European parsley fern; Cryptogramma crispa.
  

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• noun beech fern of North America and Eurasia
  Dryopteris phegopteris; narrow beech fern; Phegopteris connectilis; long beech fern; Thelypteris phegopteris.
  

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• noun fern with shorter and narrower leaves than Florida strap fern; Florida to West Indies and Mexico and south to Argentina
  Central American strap fern; Campyloneurum augustifolium.
  

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• noun large branching biennial herb native to Eurasia and Africa and adventive in North America having large fernlike leaves and white flowers; usually found in damp habitats; all parts extremely poisonous
  poison parsley; poison hemlock; hemlock; Nebraska fern; Conium maculatum; California fern.
  

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• noun slender shield fern of moist woods of eastern North America; sometimes placed in genus Dryopteris
  Dryopteris noveboracensis; Parathelypteris novae-boracensis.
  

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• noun beech fern of North America and Eurasia
  Dryopteris phegopteris; narrow beech fern; Phegopteris connectilis; long beech fern; Thelypteris phegopteris.
  

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• noun evergreen European fern widely cultivated
  Polystichum lonchitis.
  

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• noun yellow-green fern of rocky areas of northern hemisphere
  Gymnocarpium robertianum; limestone fern.
  

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• noun bright blue-green fern widely distributed especially in damp acid woodlands of temperate northern hemisphere
  Gymnocarpium dryopteris; Thelypteris dryopteris.
  

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• noun tropical fern having leathery fronds resembling oleander; found from Asia to Polynesia
  Oleandra neriiformis; Oleandra mollis.
  

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• noun tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes
  Onoclea struthiopteris; ostrich fern; Pteretis struthiopteris; Matteuccia struthiopteris; fiddlehead.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.) a kind of fern (Onoclea Struthiopteris), the tall fronds of which grow in a circle from the rootstock. It is found in alluvial soil in Europe and North America.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), a small fern with leaves resembling parsley (Cryptogramme crispa).

Webster 1913

• noun fern of Florida and West Indies and Central America with rhizome densely clad in grown hairs
  Anemia adiantifolia.
  

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• noun large Australasian evergreen fern with an edible rhizome sometimes used as a vegetable by indigenous people
  Marattia salicina.
  
• noun small epiphytic fern of South America with tuberous swellings along rhizomes
  Solanopteris bifrons.
  

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• noun North American fern whose more or less evergreen leathery fronds are covered with pale brown chafflike scales
  Braun's holly fern; Polystichum braunii.
  

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• noun New Zealand with pinnate fronds and a densely woolly stalks; sometimes included in genus Todea
  Leptopteris superba; Prince-of-Wales plume; Todea superba; crape fern; Prince-of-Wales feather.
  

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• noun tropical American fern with brown scaly rhizomes cultivated for its large deeply lobed deep bluish-green fronds; sometimes placed in genus Polypodium
  Phlebodium aureum; Polypodium aureum; golden polypody; rabbit's-foot fern.
  

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• noun any fern of the genus Doodia having pinnate fronds with sharply dentate pinnae
  doodia.
  

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• noun American fern whose clustered sporangia resemble a snake's rattle
  Botrychium virginianum.
  

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• (Bot.), a common American fern (Botrychium Virginianum) having a triangular decompound frond and a long-stalked panicle of spore cases rising from the middle of the frond.

Webster 1913

• noun fern growing on rocks or tree trunks and having fronds greyish and scurfy below; Americas and South Africa
  grey polypody; gray polypody; Polypodium polypodioides.
  

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• noun fern of North Africa and Azores and Canary Islands
  Pteris serrulata; ribbon fern.
  
• noun epiphytic fern found in lowland forests of tropical America
  Vittaria lineata; grass fern.
  
• noun epiphytic fern with straplike usually twisted fronds of tropical Asia and Polynesia and America
  Ophioglossum pendulum.
  

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• noun large deeply rooted fern of worldwide distribution with upright bipinnate compound tufted fronds
  French bracken; royal osmund; Osmunda regalis; king fern; ditch fern.
  

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• (Bot.), the handsome fern Osmunda regalis. See Osmund.

Webster 1913

• noun a showy tree fern of New Zealand and Australia having a crown of pinnated fronds with whitish undersides
  sago fern; Cyathea medullaris; black tree fern.
  

WordNet

• noun small European fern with chaffy leathery fronds
  Asplenium ceterach; Ceterach officinarum; scale fern.
  

WordNet

• noun small European fern with chaffy leathery fronds
  Asplenium ceterach; Ceterach officinarum; scale fern.
  

WordNet

• noun fern of eastern North America with pale green fronds and an aroma like hay
  hay-scented fern; Dennstaedtia punctilobula; hay-scented; boulder fern.
  
• noun sweetly scented African fern with narrow bipinnate fronds
  Mohria caffrorum.
  
• noun common perennial aromatic herb native to Eurasia having buttonlike yellow flower heads and bitter-tasting pinnate leaves sometimes used medicinally
  golden buttons; tansy; Tanacetum vulgare.
  

WordNet

Sea" fern"

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) Any gorgonian which branches like a fern.

Webster 1913

• noun an extinct seed-producing fernlike plant of the order Cycadofilicales (or group Pteridospermae)
  pteridosperm.
  

WordNet

• 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

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

Webster 1913

• noun tropical American fern with brown scaly rhizomes cultivated for its large deeply lobed deep bluish-green fronds; sometimes placed in genus Polypodium
  Phlebodium aureum; Polypodium aureum; golden polypody; rabbit's-foot fern.
  

WordNet

• noun any of various ferns of the genera Dryopteris or Polystichum or Lastreopsis having somewhat shield-shaped coverings on the sori
  buckler fern.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), any fern of the genus Aspidium, in which the fructifications are covered with shield-shaped indusia; called also wood fern. See Illust. of Indusium.

Webster 1913

• noun tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes
  Onoclea struthiopteris; ostrich fern; Pteretis struthiopteris; Matteuccia struthiopteris; fiddlehead.
  

WordNet

• noun tropical American fern having fronds with white undersides
  Pityrogramma calomelanos.
  
• noun fern of southern tropical Africa having fronds with white undersides
  Pityrogramma argentea.
  

WordNet

• noun a showy tree fern of New Zealand and Australia having a crown of pinnated fronds with whitish undersides
  sago fern; Cyathea medullaris; black tree fern.
  

WordNet

• noun pantropical epiphytic or terrestrial whisk fern with usually dull yellow branches and minute leaves; America; Japan; Australia
  Psilotum nudum.
  

WordNet

• noun southeastern United States to northern Mexico and Jamaica
  Alabama lip fern; Cheilanthes alabamensis.
  

WordNet

• noun tropical fern widespread in Old World; naturalized in Jamaica and Florida
  climbing maidenhair; climbing maidenhair fern; Lygodium microphyllum.
  

WordNet

• noun fern of northeastern North America
  Dryopteris thelypteris pubescens; Thelypteris palustris pubescens; meadow fern.
  

WordNet

• noun European shield fern cultivated in many varieties
  Polystichum setiferum.
  

WordNet

• noun of Australia and Tasmania; often cultivated; hardy in cool climates
  Dicksonia antarctica.
  

WordNet

• noun beech fern of North American woodlands having straw-colored stripes
  Phegopteris hexagonoptera; Thelypteris hexagonoptera; broad beech fern; Dryopteris hexagonoptera.
  

WordNet

• noun lip fern of Texas to Oklahoma and Colorado and Arizona and Mexico having tall erect tufted fronds
  Cheilanthes eatonii.
  

WordNet

• noun fern of North Africa and Azores and Canary Islands
  Pteris serrulata; ribbon fern.
  
• noun Asiatic fern introduced in America
  spider brake; Pteris multifida.
  

WordNet

• noun feathery fern of tropical Asia and Malaysia
  ball fern; Davallia Mariesii; Davalia bullata mariesii; Davalia bullata.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), an Australian and West African fern (Platycerium alcicorne) having the large fronds branched like a stag's horns; also, any species of the same genus.

Webster 1913

• noun any of various tropical ferns of the genus Platycerium having large flat lobed fronds often resembling the antlers of a stag
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a European fern (Asplenium Ceterach) which grows on rocks and walls.

Webster 1913

• noun fern with long narrow strap-shaped leaves
  

WordNet

• noun mat-forming lithophytic or terrestrial fern with creeping rootstocks and large pinnatifid fronds found throughout North America and Europe and Africa and east Asia
  golden maidenhair; sweet fern; golden polypody; common polypody; adder's fern; Polypodium vulgare.
  
• noun deciduous shrub of eastern North America with sweet scented fernlike leaves and tiny white flowers
  Comptonia asplenifolia; Comptonia peregrina.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a small North American shrub (Comptonia, ∨ Myrica, asplenifolia) having sweet-scented or aromatic leaves resembling fern leaves.

Webster 1913

• noun any of several tropical ferns having more or less sword-shaped fronds including one from which the Boston fern developed
  

WordNet

• noun widely distributed fern of tropical southern hemisphere having leathery pinnatifid fronds
  leatherleaf fern; Rumohra adiantiformis; leather fern; Polystichum adiantiformis.
  

WordNet

• noun east Asian fern having fronds shaped like tongues; sometimes placed in genus Cyclophorus
  felt fern; Cyclophorus lingua; Pyrrosia lingua.
  

WordNet

• noun tropical American fern cultivated for its finely divided greyish-green foliage; West Indies and southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil
  basket fern; Nephrolepis pectinata.
  

WordNet

• noun any of numerous usually tropical ferns having a thick woody stem or caudex and a crown of large fronds; found especially in Australia and New Zealand; chiefly of the families Cyatheaceae and Marattiaceae but some from Polypodiaceae
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), an arborescent fern having a straight trunk, sometimes twenty or twenty-five feet high, or even higher, and bearing a cluster of fronds at the top. Most of the existing species are tropical.

Webster 1913

• noun large Australasian fern with fanlike repeatedly forked fronds; sometimes placed in genus Gleichenia
  fan fern; Gleichenia flabellata; Sticherus flabellatus.
  

WordNet

• noun delicate maidenhair fern with slender shining black leaf stalks; cosmopolitan
  Venushair; Adiantum capillus-veneris; Venus maidenhair; common maidenhair; southern maidenhair.
  

WordNet

• noun North American fern
  Woodwardia virginica.
  

WordNet

• noun ferns having lanceolate fronds that root at the tip
  Asplenium rhizophyllum; Camptosorus rhizophyllus; walking leaf.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.) See Walking leaf, below.

Webster 1913

• noun mat-forming lithophytic or terrestrial fern with creeping rootstocks and large pinnatifid fronds found throughout North America and Europe and Africa and east Asia
  golden maidenhair; sweet fern; golden polypody; common polypody; adder's fern; Polypodium vulgare.
  

WordNet

• noun ferns that grow in water
  aquatic fern.
  

WordNet

• noun North American fern
  Polystichum scopulinum.
  

WordNet

• noun chiefly tropical clump-forming plants of skeletal appearance resembling whisk brooms; lacking roots
  

WordNet

• noun large branching biennial herb native to Eurasia and Africa and adventive in North America having large fernlike leaves and white flowers; usually found in damp habitats; all parts extremely poisonous
  poison parsley; poison hemlock; hemlock; Nebraska fern; Conium maculatum; California fern.
  

WordNet

• noun any of various ferns of the genus Dryopteris
  wood fern; woodfern.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.) See Shield fern, under Shield.

Webster 1913

• noun any of various ferns of the genus Dryopteris
  wood fern; woodfern.
  

WordNet

• noun small North American evergreen fern whose stipes and lower frond surfaces are densely wooly
  Cheilanthes lanosa; hairy lip fern.
  

WordNet