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Glite Dictionary
crepe fern

crepe fern

9.4
A fern with thin, crinkled leaves that grows in humid, shaded rainforests
  • noun
  • Australian
translation icon : helecho crepe
  • The crepe fern thrives in the humid understory of Australian rainforests.

Examples

  • Many gardeners appreciate the delicate appearance of the crepe fern in shaded gardens.

  • Botanists documented the distribution of the crepe fern across both New Zealand and South Africa.

  • The crepe fern thrives in humid environments.

  • I saw a beautiful crepe fern in the botanical garden.

  • Many gardeners appreciate the delicate appearance of the crepe fern in shaded gardens.

  • The crepe fern thrives in the humid understory of Australian rainforests.

  • Botanists documented the distribution of the crepe fern across both New Zealand and South Africa.

Surface Forms

crepe fern singular
crepe ferns plural

Morphology

crepe + fern

The modifier 'crepe' denotes a crinkled, lightweight fabric, and in the compound 'crepe fern' it straightforwardly describes the fern's crinkled fronds; the overall meaning (a fern with delicate, crinkled fronds) is directly derivable from the parts. This attributive noun+noun descriptive pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Crepe fern comes from the look of its thin, crinkled leaves: they look like crepe cloth, and fern is the plant type. So the name helps you remember this small, delicate rainforest plant.