hay-scented fern
- noun
- /heɪ ˈsɛntɪd fɜrn/
- US
:
helecho con aroma a heno
- I identified a patch of hay-scented ferns while hiking in the woods of eastern North America.
Examples
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In my garden, the hay-scented fern thrives in the damp, shaded areas.
-
Two prominent ferns are intermediate fern and hay-scented fern; the latter is especially common in disturbed areas.
Academic text (1998) -
The hay-scented fern has a distinct smell similar to freshly cut grass.
Synonyms
A fern with pale green leaves that smells like hay and grows in eastern North America
A fern with pale green divided leaves that smells like hay
Surface Forms
Morphology
hay-scented + fern
The meaning 'a fern with a scent resembling hay' is directly and transparently built from the constituents 'hay' + 'scented' + 'fern'—a B1 learner who knows 'hay', 'scented', and 'fern' can compose the description. Although the compound 'hay-scented' is somewhat uncommon, its internal structure is fully compositional and follows normal adjective+noun patterns, so the sense is immediately inferable.
Etymology
The compound name hay-scented fern comes from the plant's pale fronds that give off a hay-like smell when you brush them. So the name simply means a fern that 'smells like hay'.
