fragrant cliff fern
- noun
- UK
:
helecho fragante
- The fragrant cliff fern thrived in the cool, shaded areas of the northern forest.
Examples
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Botanists were excited to discover a patch of fragrant cliff ferns along the rocky slope.
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Her garden boasts a variety of ferns, including the rare fragrant cliff fern.
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The fragrant cliff fern grows abundantly in shady areas.
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Many gardeners love the fragrant cliff fern for its unique scent.
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Her garden boasts a variety of ferns, including the rare fragrant cliff fern.
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Many gardeners love the fragrant cliff fern for its unique scent.
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Botanists were excited to discover a patch of fragrant cliff ferns along the rocky slope.
Synonyms
A small fern with sweet-smelling leaves that grows in cold northern regions
A plant that grows in shady woods with many long leaves that smell pleasant
A green plant with divided leaves that smell pleasant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'fragrant' (having a pleasant smell) modifying 'cliff fern' (a fern associated with cliffs) yields a fern that is both associated with cliffs and emits a fragrance, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning. This straightforward adjective + noun + noun descriptive pattern is a regular, cross-linguistically common construction and therefore easily transparent.
Etymology
The name fragrant cliff fern probably comes from a simple picture: a fern with nice-smelling leaves (fragrant) that often grows on rocky edges (cliff). That's why the name means 'a fern with nice-smelling leaves that grows on cliffs'.
