fern
- noun
- /fɜrn/
- In the rainforest, ferns thrive in the moist, shaded areas beneath the canopy.
- fern fronds
- ferns and mosses
- ferns and flowering plants
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Watch on YouTubeAnd between their their graves, a red Fern grows.
- And between their their graves, a red Fern grows.
- You hide behind like some ferns and shit, right?
- It's like a six pointed star with ferns off each leg that would form a hexagonal pattern.
- And then over here we have just ferns.
- The giant ferns and cacao trees and papaya and it's rioting vegetation.
- We've got some armchairs and like a Fern green velvet couch.
- So I'll leave the ferns to get on being ferns and we'll move on to the next location.
Examples
-
Hunters carry the little creatures to market wrapped in fern fronds and balanced on a shoulder pole.
Academic text (1994) -
What they had pictured when they imagined the new bathroom: ferns, black ceramic tile, and Candlelight White.
Fiction book (1992) -
It's in the hall, by the fern.
-
I'm taking this love fern with me.
-
There are copper Fern leaves, but they're rare.
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On the other side of the stone wall, the hill overgrown with fern slopes downward.
Fiction book (1991) -
Beyond the fences, Grant saw dense clusters of large ferns, five feet high.
Fiction book (1990) -
He saw that the growth of the Fern was luxuriant, vibrant, and abundant.
-
Two prominent ferns are intermediate fern and hay-scented fern; the latter is especially common in disturbed areas.
Academic text (1998) -
Nearby, there was also coltsfoot and several kinds of ferns that had flavorful roots.
Fiction book (1990)
Compounds
- Australian
A large plant that grows in Australia and New Zealand with fan-shaped leaves that split many times
A North American fern that stays green in winter and has long divided leaves
A large North American plant with hairy cinnamon-colored fronds that appear in spring
- UK
A small herb with yellow button flowers and bitter leaves used in traditional medicine
A plant with thin, fan-shaped leaves that grows in moist shade and is often kept indoors
A fern that grows on trees or rocks and appears dead when dry but comes back to life after rain
A fast growing fern with broad dark green leaves that people grow for decoration in shade
- Specialized
A plant with large upright feather-like leaves that grows in wet, shady places
- Specialized
A tropical fern with long curved leaves that form a round nest in tree forks
- Australian
A large fern with a tall dark trunk and long feather-like leaves that form a crown
- Specialized
A fern with a sweet root that grows on logs in western North America
A large tropical fern with long feathery leaves often grown in pots for decoration
- US
A plant with divided leaves that grows in meadows and open woods in eastern North America
- Specialized
A tall fern with divided leaves and a band of leaf parts that make spores near the middle
- Specialized
A small fern with very thin, almost see-through leaves that grows in very wet tropical forests
- Specialized
A fern with deeply cut triangular leaves that makes a soft ground cover
- Specialized
A fern with delicate leaves and a hood that covers its spore clusters
- Specialized
A plant with shield-shaped covers over its spore clusters that grows in shady, damp places
- Specialized
A fern with long leaves that have chainlike rows of small spore cases underneath
- UK
A green fern with feathery leaves that grows in shady woods and is sometimes eaten by deer
- Specialized
Plants like clubmosses and horsetails that look like ferns but are not true ferns
- UK
A delicate plant with thin divided leaves and easily broken stems that grows in damp woods
- Specialized
A fern with deeply divided leaves that grows in wet places like marshes
- Specialized
A fern with furry underground stems and large deeply divided green leaves
- Australian
A tall fern with a trunk and feathery leaves that grows in cool, shady places
A large plant with leaves like a fern, small white flowers, and all parts very poisonous if eaten
A rare small fern with thin curled leaves that grows in thick clumps on the ground
A plant that grows in shady woods with many long leaves that smell pleasant
How Showy
- South African
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fern comes from an old English word fearn meaning 'feathery plant'. Because the plant has soft, feather-like leaves, that old name helps us remember that a fern is the plant with those divided, feathery leaves.