fern
/fəːn
/noun (plural same or ferns)
A flowerless plant which has feathery or leafy fronds and reproduces by spores released from the undersides of the fronds. Ferns have a vascular system for the transport of water and nutrients.
- Class Filicopsida, division Pteridophyta.
- Despite its name, this evergreen is not a pine but a spore-bearing plant related to ferns.
- The children collected leaves from plants such as ferns etc. which will be used for nature study purposes.
Synonyms
(ferns) bracken
archaic brake
Derivatives
fernery
/ noun (plural ferneries) ...- Elma has great plans for a water feature and a fernery (collection of different ferns) and her enthusiasm was really infectious.
- We've got rough bark covered in moss and dripping with green fernery, quite a way up the trunk of the tree.
- The fernery near the rose garden had fallen into disrepair, and in 1988 the Christchurch City Council set aside a sum of $6000.00 for its demolition.
ferny
/ adjective ...- On the other hand, a planting that combines large, tropical-looking leaves with fine-textured, ferny foliage will have pizzazz.
- Use the ferny leaves on a sandwich in place of lettuce, mix them with other salad greens, steep them in white-wine vinegar, or bruise them and add them to a wine spritzer.
- It has grown more than two metres high this year despite being in a relatively small container and has covered a decent area of wall with its ferny foliage with a few stems finding their way into the bamboo growing nearby.
Origin
Old English fearn, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch varen and German Farn.