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Glite Dictionary
Athyrium filix-femina

Athyrium filix-femina

9.8
A fern with delicate feathery leaves often grown in shady gardens
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Athyrium filix-femina
  • In spring, new fronds of Athyrium filix-femina unfurl elegantly in woodland gardens.

Examples

  • The Athyrium filix-femina is a popular choice for shady garden borders due to its graceful fronds.

  • The Athyrium filix-femina thrives in moist, shaded areas.

  • Botanists easily recognize Athyrium filix-femina by its light green, feathery leaves.

  • Is the Athyrium filix-femina suitable for my garden?

  • Gardeners often plant Athyrium filix-femina to add lush greenery and texture to shaded areas.

  • The Athyrium filix-femina is admired for its delicate, feathery foliage that brings elegance to any garden.

  • After careful selection, I decided to include Athyrium filix-femina among my favorite ferns for its beautiful appearance.

Synonyms

lady fern
vsAthyrium filix-femina
7.7

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

is the scientific species name used for formal identification

Surface Forms

Athyrium filix-femina singular
Athyrium filix-feminas plural

Morphology

Athyrium + filix-femina

This is a scientific Latin binomial (Athyrium filix-femina) where the second element is a Latin phrase not found in the learner's dictionary entry; such taxonomic names function as arbitrary labels rather than compositional English phrases. A B1 learner who knows the genus name 'Athyrium' but not Latin roots would not be able to derive the common meaning 'lady fern' from the constituents, so the expression is not transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Athyrium filix-femina comes from Latin words: filix meaning 'fern' and femina meaning 'woman'. Gardeners called it the 'lady fern' because its soft, feathery fronds looked graceful and feminine, so the name now refers to that delicate garden fern.