hart's-tongue fern
- noun
:
helecho lengua de ciervo
- The leathery fronds of the hart's-tongue fern distinguish it from many other ferns in the region.
Examples
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Botanists observed a rare hart's-tongue fern growing near the base of the waterfall.
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In the botanical garden, the hart's-tongue fern stands out due to its unique lance-shaped leaves.
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The hart's-tongue fern thrives in moist, shaded environments of Central and South America.
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The hart's-tongue fern thrives in shaded areas.
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Look at this hart's-tongue fern!
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The hart's-tongue fern has long, strap-shaped fronds that can be found in the damp forests of Europe.
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Conservationists are working to protect the hart's-tongue fern as it is becoming increasingly rare in the wild.
Synonyms
A fern from Europe and Asia with long tongue-shaped leaves that grows in moist shade
A fern with long green leaves shaped like a tongue that grows in damp places
A fern with long flat green leaves that look like a tongue
Surface Forms
Morphology
hart's-tongue + fern
The phrase is compositionally literal: 'hart's-tongue' describes a deer's tongue (i.e., a long, strap-shaped form) and 'fern' names the plant, so the overall meaning is a fern with tongue-like fronds. If a learner knows the constituents ('hart', 'tongue', and 'fern') they can directly infer this descriptive meaning; similar compound plant names occur in other languages, which supports transparency.
Etymology
Hart's-tongue fern may come from the plant's long, tongue-shaped leaves. People used the old word hart for a 'male deer' and thought the fronds looked like a deer's tongue, so the name came to mean a fern with long, strap-like leaves.
