Venus'-hair fern
- noun
:
helecho de Venus
- Botanists admire the Venus'-hair fern for its graceful black stalks and delicate leaves.
Examples
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The Venus'-hair fern thrives in moist, shaded garden corners.
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She placed a potted Venus'-hair fern on the windowsill to brighten the room.
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The Venus'-hair fern is often found in moist, shaded areas.
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Many gardeners appreciate the beauty of the Venus'-hair fern.
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Botanists admire the Venus'-hair fern for its graceful black stalks and delicate leaves.
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She placed a potted Venus'-hair fern on the windowsill to brighten the room.
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The Venus'-hair fern thrives in moist, shaded garden corners.
Synonyms
A delicate fern with thin shiny black leaf stalks and bending leaves that grows in shade near water
A small fern with fine feathery leaves and shiny black stems that grows in wet shade
A delicate fern with thin shiny black stems and small light green leaves
A delicate fern with thin shiny black leaf stalks that grows in wet forests
A small delicate fern with shiny black stalks and feathery leaves
Surface Forms
Morphology
Venus'-hair + fern
A learner who knows 'fern' and the components 'Venus' and 'hair' can plausibly infer this refers to a fern with very fine, hair‑like stalks (the name is descriptive/poetic). However, 'Venus'-hair' is a conventional botanical name for a specific species and the precise referent and taxonomic sense are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
Venus'-hair fern comes from its thin, hair-like leaves and shiny black stalks. People compared those fine fronds to the hair of the goddess Venus, so its Latin name meant 'Venus's hair' and that image helps us remember this delicate fern.
