spleenwort

spleen·wort

S0653300 (splēn′wûrt′, -wôrt′)n. Any of numerous widely distributed evergreen ferns of the genus Asplenium, having undivided to featherlike fronds with oblong to linear sori arranged along the veins.

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[So called because it was thought to cure spleen disorders.]

spleenwort

(ˈspliːnˌwɜːt) n (Plants) any of various ferns of the genus Asplenium, esp A. trichomanes, that often grows on walls, having linear or oblong sori on the undersurface of the fronds. See also asplenium

spleen•wort

(ˈsplinˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt)

n. 1. any temperate and tropical fern of the genus Asplenium. 2. any of certain ferns of the genus Athyrium. [1570–80]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

spleenwort - any of various chiefly rock-inhabiting ferns of the genus Aspleniumfern - any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by sporesAsplenium, genus Asplenium - in some classification systems placed in family PolypodiaceaeAsplenium adiantum-nigrum, black spleenwort - spleenwort of Europe and Africa and Asia having pinnate fronds and yielding an astringentAsplenium platyneuron, ebony spleenwort, Scott's Spleenwort - common North American fern with polished black stripesblack-stem spleenwort, black-stemmed spleenwort, little ebony spleenwort - fern of tropical America: from southern United States to West Indies and Mexico to BrazilAsplenium rhizophyllum, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, walking fern, walking leaf - ferns having lanceolate fronds that root at the tipAsplenium trichomanes, maidenhair spleenwort - small rock-inhabiting fern of northern temperate zone and Hawaii with pinnate frondsAsplenium viride, green spleenwort - a small fern with slim green fronds; widely distributed in cool parts of northern hemisphereAsplenium montanum, mountain spleenwort - a spleenwort of eastern North AmericaAsplenium ruta-muraria, wall rue, wall rue spleenwort - small delicate spleenwort found on a steep slope (as a wall or cliff) of Eurasia and North AmericaAsplenium bradleyi, Bradley's spleenwort - a spleenwort of eastern to southern United StatesAsplenium pinnatifidum, lobed spleenwort - a spleenwort of eastern and southern United StatesAsplenium billotii, lanceolate spleenwort - a spleenwort of western Europe