walking fern
- noun
- Specialized
:
helecho caminante
- Because the fronds of the walking fern root at the tip, the plant slowly spreads across the mossy rocks.
Examples
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You can see a walking fern gracefully extending its fronds, which root at their tips and gradually cover the ground.
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The walking fern can often be found growing in shaded limestone outcrops.
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Gardeners admire the resilience of the walking fern in challenging environments.
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The walking fern is a fascinating plant.
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I found a walking fern in my backyard.
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The walking fern creates new plants by rooting its fronds at the tips, allowing it to spread over time.
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In a damp forest, the walking fern thrives, its fronds reaching out to form new plants.
Synonyms
A fern with long narrow leaves that make roots at their tips and spread across rocks
A fern called walking fern with long narrow leaves that root at the tips
A tropical fern with long thin fronds that root at the tip and spread
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly built from the constituents: 'walking' + 'fern' signals a fern that appears to 'walk' or spread by rooting, so the overall meaning is compositionally predictable from the parts. Although 'walking' is metaphorical here, the descriptive pattern is transparent and follows productive naming in English, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The plant name walking fern comes from the simple idea of walking and fern: its leaves root at the tip and make new plants, so the fern slowly seems to 'walk' across the ground.
