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fern

fern

37 1.3
A plant with feathery leaves that has no flowers and makes spores
  • noun
  • /fɜrn/
: helecho
  • In the rainforest, ferns thrive in the moist, shaded areas beneath the canopy.
  • fern fronds
  • ferns and mosses
  • ferns and flowering plants

And between their their graves, a red Fern grows.

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Examples

  • Hunters carry the little creatures to market wrapped in fern fronds and balanced on a shoulder pole.

    Academic text (1994)
  • What they had pictured when they imagined the new bathroom: ferns, black ceramic tile, and Candlelight White.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It's in the hall, by the fern.

  • I'm taking this love fern with me.

  • There are copper Fern leaves, but they're rare.

  • On the other side of the stone wall, the hill overgrown with fern slopes downward.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Beyond the fences, Grant saw dense clusters of large ferns, five feet high.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • He saw that the growth of the Fern was luxuriant, vibrant, and abundant.

  • Two prominent ferns are intermediate fern and hay-scented fern; the latter is especially common in disturbed areas.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Nearby, there was also coltsfoot and several kinds of ferns that had flavorful roots.

    Fiction book (1990)

Compounds

1 6.1

A tall fern with a thick woody trunk and large leaves at the top

1 7.4

Young curled fern leaves that people eat in spring

1 7.4

A tall fern with large curved leaves that look like ostrich feathers

fern seed
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A tiny spore from a fern, once thought to make you invisible

1 8.6

A low shrubby plant with fern-like leaves that smell sweet, from North America

1 6.9

A very large fern that grows in wet tropical forests

1 4.0

A plant that grows in water or very wet places

1 7.1

A tropical plant with long, narrow leaves shaped like a sword

1 5.0

A houseplant fern with long arching leaves that people grow indoors

fan fern
  • Australian
1 8.9

A large plant that grows in Australia and New Zealand with fan-shaped leaves that split many times

seed fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Plants that looked like ferns but made seeds long ago

1 9.9

A North American fern that stays green in winter and has long divided leaves

staghorn fern
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A tropical fern with large flat leaves that look like deer antlers

1 6.5

A plant with divided, lacy leaves that grows in woods

1 7.8

A large North American plant with hairy cinnamon-colored fronds that appear in spring

1 8.9

A tropical fern with a brown, hairy underground stem that grows in warm forests

holly fern
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A plant with shiny, spiny leaves that look like holly

A houseplant that has thin feathery leaves like a fern but is not a true fern

1 7.7

A common fern with soft feathery leaves often grown in shaded gardens

1 7.7

A small herb with yellow button flowers and bitter leaves used in traditional medicine

A plant with thin, fan-shaped leaves that grows in moist shade and is often kept indoors

fern palm
  • Indian
1 9.7

A tropical plant with palmlike leaves that look like a fern

1 9.9

A tall fern with long arching leaves that look like a feather

A fern that grows on trees or rocks and appears dead when dry but comes back to life after rain

1 7.3

A fast growing fern with broad dark green leaves that people grow for decoration in shade

1 7.9

A bright blue-green plant that grows in damp woods in northern regions

royal fern
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A plant with large upright feather-like leaves that grows in wet, shady places

1 8.8

A plant with leaves that fold slightly when touched and grows in wet woods

A fern with groups of tiny spores that look like small flowers

male fern
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A fern that grows in shady woods across Europe and North America

grape fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fern with feathery leaves and round spore clusters like grapes

shield fern
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A fern with shield-shaped coverings under its leaves

button fern
  • New Zealand
1 6.2

A small fern with round leaves that people often grow indoors

1 9.3

A plant with pale green feathery leaves that smells like hay when touched

bird's nest fern
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A tropical fern with long curved leaves that form a round nest in tree forks

1 8.4

A plant with thin, lacy leaves often kept indoors for decoration

1 7.6

A fern with leaves that smell pleasant when crushed

1 5.8

A fern with pale white undersides on its leaves

wall fern
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A low fern that grows on rocks or walls in shaded moist places

black tree fern
  • Australian
1 8.8

A large fern with a tall dark trunk and long feather-like leaves that form a crown

licorice fern
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A fern with a sweet root that grows on logs in western North America

1 9.9

A small green plant with scaly, leather-like leaves that grows in rocky places

tongue fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fern with long flat leaves that look like tongues

1 7.7

A large tropical fern with long feathery leaves often grown in pots for decoration

1 7.9

A tropical fern with tough, split leaves that grows in wet places

1 8.1

A plant with divided leaves that grows in meadows and open woods in eastern North America

1 9.4

A fern from warm places with golden leaves that people grow for decoration

hare's-foot fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fern with soft grey hairy roots that look like a hare's foot

interrupted fern
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A tall fern with divided leaves and a band of leaf parts that make spores near the middle

film fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small fern with very thin, almost see-through leaves that grows in very wet tropical forests

beech fern
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A fern with deeply cut triangular leaves that makes a soft ground cover

bladder fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fern with delicate leaves and a hood that covers its spore clusters

buckler fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A plant with shield-shaped covers over its spore clusters that grows in shady, damp places

bulblet bladder fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A North American fern with small bulbs on its leaves

bulblet fern
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A North American fern that makes small bulbs on parts of its leaves

chain fern
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A fern with long leaves that have chainlike rows of small spore cases underneath

1 8.2

A green fern with feathery leaves that grows in shady woods and is sometimes eaten by deer

fern family
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A group of plants like ferns that have long leaves and make spores

fern ally
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Plants like clubmosses and horsetails that look like ferns but are not true ferns

1 8.2

A delicate plant with thin divided leaves and easily broken stems that grows in damp woods

marsh fern
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A fern with deeply divided leaves that grows in wet places like marshes

1 9.1

A small fern with narrow leaves and yellow stalks that grows in moist woods

1 8.4

A fern with thin grass-like leaves that grows on trees in tropical forests

A fern with long flat leathery leaves that grows in shade

rabbit's-foot fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fern with furry underground stems and large deeply divided green leaves

soft tree fern
  • Australian
1 7.8

A tall fern with a trunk and feathery leaves that grows in cool, shady places

walking fern
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A fern with narrow leaves that grow roots at their tips to spread

1 9.9

A large plant with leaves like a fern, small white flowers, and all parts very poisonous if eaten

1 9.9

A rare small fern with thin curled leaves that grows in thick clumps on the ground

1 9.5

A green plant from East Asia with soft leaves shaped like tongues

A plant that floats on the surface of water, often used in aquariums and ponds

A plant that grows in shady woods with many long leaves that smell pleasant

1 9.9

A small plant with divided leaves that grows on dry rocky ground

How Showy

impala lily
  • South African
9.3
Hibiscus
  • Specialized
2 5.5
rhododendron
7 6.2
marigold
9 2.4
dandelion
21 1.0
fern
37 1.3
moss
50 1.0

Surface Forms

fern singular
ferns plural

Etymology

Fern comes from an old English word fearn meaning 'feathery plant'. Because the plant has soft, feather-like leaves, that old name helps us remember that a fern is the plant with those divided, feathery leaves.