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
And 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.
-
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
A small, delicate fern from Bermuda with thin leaves and stems that spread along the ground
- Specialized
A spreading fern with fronds divided into small beadlike lobes and round spore clusters
- Specialized
A tropical fern with long curved leaves that form a round nest in tree forks
- Specialized
A small fern with purple-brown stalks and divided leaves like a bird's foot
- Australian
A large fern with a tall dark trunk and long feather-like leaves that form a crown
- Specialized
A North American fern with leathery leaves that stay green all year and pale brown flaky scales
- Specialized
A fern with pale green leaves that smells like hay and grows in eastern North America
- Specialized
A small fern with thin, often almost clear leaves that grows on trees or mossy banks
A tropical fern with thin, easily broken leaves often grown indoors for its pretty look
- Specialized
A plant with wide leaves found in North American woods marked by light straw-colored stripes
- Specialized
A plant with shield-shaped covers over its spore clusters that grows in shady, damp places
A large plant with leaves like a fern, small white flowers, and all parts very poisonous if eaten
A fern from the Canary Islands and Madeira with soft, hairy underground stems like a hare's foot
A small water plant with many thin leaves that floats on ponds and in aquariums
A fern with narrow, strap-like leaves that grows from Florida to Argentina
- Specialized
A fern with long leaves that have chainlike rows of small spore cases underneath
A large North American plant with hairy cinnamon-colored fronds that appear in spring
A fern with thin, delicate leaves that climbs or trails over rocks and walls
- Australian
A fern that climbs trees and has broad leaves that look like a bird's nest
- US
An evergreen fern from California and Baja California with dark brown stems on its leaves
- Australian
A fern with large antler-shaped leaves often grown on wooden boards
- Specialized
A fern with long flat pale green leaves that grows on trees or on the ground in warm places
- Specialized
A delicate fern with stems that grow along the ground and some forked leaves
A rare small fern with thin curled leaves that grows in thick clumps on the ground
A fern with leaves shaped like daisy petals that grows in damp woods in North America, Europe, and Asia
- UK
A green fern with feathery leaves that grows in shady woods and is sometimes eaten by deer
- Australian
A large fern with fronds like deer antlers that grows on trees and is kept as a decorative plant
A small fern with narrow leaves that grows in dry, shaded places in the southeastern United States
A fern that grows on rocks or walls in shady places in North America and East Asia
A North American fern with leaves like a fan that curve back and shiny dark red stems
A fern that grows in rocky places in northern North America with leaves like parsley
- Indian
A small plant with delicate feathery leaves from tropical Asia often grown in shaded gardens
A fast growing fern with broad dark green leaves that people grow for decoration in shade
A fern with bright green leaves like parsley that grows in rocky places in Europe
- Australian
A large plant that grows in Australia and New Zealand with fan-shaped leaves that split many times
- Specialized
A type of fern with delicate, fan-shaped leaves often grown in gardens
- Specialized
Plants like clubmosses and horsetails that look like ferns but are not true ferns
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.