lace fern

9.5

A small fern with thin, finely divided leaves that grows in shady, moist places

noun
/leɪs fɜrn/

: helecho de encaje

The lace fern thrives in moist, shaded forests throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Examples

Gardeners often choose the lace fern for its fine, attractive foliage.
As we hiked, I spotted a patch of lace fern growing beside the trail.
The lace fern thrives in shaded areas.
Have you seen the lace ferns in the garden?
As we hiked, I spotted a patch of lace fern growing beside the trail.
Gardeners often choose the lace fern for its fine, attractive foliage.
The lace fern thrives in moist, shaded forests throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Synonyms

Cheilanthes gracillima

vslace fern

Specialized

9.9

A small fern that grows in clumps on rocky slopes in northwestern North America

focuses on delicate lace like fronds rather than habitat preference

Surface Forms

lace fern singular

lace ferns plural

Morphology

lace + fern

The compound is compositional: 'lace' describes the delicate, lace-like appearance and 'fern' names the plant, so the overall meaning (a fern that looks like lace) is directly derivable from the parts. This type of descriptive noun–noun compound is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Lace fern comes from a simple picture: the plant's thin, finely cut leaves look like pieces of lace, so people called it a lace fern. That's why the name means 'a small fern with delicate, lace-like leaves'.