bird's-foot fern
- noun
- /bɜrdz fʊt fɜrn/
- Specialized
:
helecho pie de pájaro
- The bird's-foot fern is easily recognized by its purple-brown leafstalks and divided leaves.
Examples
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Botanists study the bird's-foot fern to understand how it adapts to the dry cliffs of California.
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We spotted a rare bird's-foot fern growing among the rocks during our hike.
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The bird's-foot fern thrives in moist, shaded areas.
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I spotted a bird's-foot fern while hiking in California.
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The bird's-foot fern is easily recognized by its purple-brown leafstalks and divided leaves.
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We spotted a rare bird's-foot fern growing among the rocks during our hike.
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I spotted a bird's-foot fern while hiking in California.
Synonyms
54
1.3
A plant with feathery leaves that has no flowers and makes spores
A small fern that grows on cliffs in California with purple-brown stems
A type of fern with purple-brown leaf stalks that grows on cliffs in California and Baja California
Surface Forms
Morphology
bird's-foot + fern
The compound is directly compositional: 'bird's-foot' signals a shape like a bird's foot and 'fern' names the plant, so a learner who knows 'bird', 'foot', and 'fern' can infer it is a fern resembling a bird's foot. Naming plants by visible resemblance is a common, cross-linguistic strategy, making this easily derivable for B1 learners.
Etymology
Bird's-foot fern The plant name bird's-foot fern comes from the way its divided leaves and purple-brown stalks spread like a bird's-foot. The leaflets act as 'toes' and the stalk looks like a 'heel', so the image helps people picture and identify the fern.