English > fern: 1 sense > noun 1, plant| Meaning | Any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores. |
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| Member of | Filicopsida, class Filicopsida, Filicinae, class Filicinae | ferns |
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| Parts | fern seed | The asexual spore of ferns that resembles dust |
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| Narrower | Christmas fern, canker brake, dagger fern, evergreen wood fern, Polystichum acrostichoides | North American evergreen fern having pinnate leaves and dense clusters of lance-shaped fronds |
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| Indian button fern, Tectaria macrodonta | fern of tropical Asia having round buttonlike bulbils |
| Massachusetts fern, Parathelypteris simulata, Thelypteris simulata | Delicate feathery shield fern of the eastern United States |
| New York fern, Parathelypteris novae-boracensis, Dryopteris noveboracensis | Slender shield fern of moist woods of eastern North America |
| Pteris cretica | cultivated in many varieties as houseplants |
| Schaffneria nigripes, Asplenium nigripes, Scolopendrium nigripes | A fern of the genus Schaffneria |
| adder's tongue, adder's tongue fern | ferns with fertile spikes shaped like a snake's tongue |
| annual fern, Jersey fern, Anogramma leptophylla | small short-lived fern of Central and South America |
| aquatic fern, water fern | ferns that grow in water |
| bamboo fern, Coniogramme japonica | fast-growing sturdy Japanese fern |
| basket fern, Drynaria rigidula | giant epiphytic or lithophytic fern |
| bear's-paw fern, Aglaomorpha meyeniana | epiphytic fern with large fronds |
| beech fern | Any fern of the genus Phegopteris having deeply cut triangular fronds |
| bird's nest fern, Asplenium nidus | Tropical Old World or Australian epiphytic fern frequently forming tufts in tree crotches |
| bladder fern | Any fern of the genus Cystopteris characterized by a hooded indusium or bladderlike membrane covering the sori |
| bracken, pasture brake, brake, Pteridium aquilinum | large coarse fern often several feet high |
| bracken, Pteridium esculentum | fern of southeastern Asia |
| brake | Any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately compound leaves and including several popular houseplants |
| bristle fern, filmy fern | Any fern of the genus Trichomanes having large pinnatifid often translucent fronds |
| button fern, Tectaria cicutaria | Jamaican fern having round buttonlike bulbils |
| button fern, Pellaea rotundifolia | fern of New Zealand and Australia having trailing fronds with dark green buttonlike leaflets |
| chain fern | A fern of the genus Woodwardia having the sori in chainlike rows |
| christella | Any of several tropical ferns of the genus Christella having thin brittle fronds |
| cliff brake, cliff-brake, rock brake | Any of several small lithophytic ferns of tropical and warm temperate regions |
| climbing bird's nest fern, Microsorium punctatum | Tropical Africa to Australasia and Polynesia |
| climbing fern | Any of several ferns of the genus Lygodium that climb by twining |
| crape fern, Prince-of-Wales fern, Prince-of-Wales feather, Prince-of-Wales plume, Leptopteris superba, Todea superba | New Zealand with pinnate fronds and a densely woolly stalks |
| crepe fern, king fern, Todea barbara | fern of rain forests of tropical Australia and New Zealand and South Africa |
| curly grass, curly grass fern, Schizaea pusilla | Rare small fern of northeastern North America having numerous slender spiraling fronds and forming dense tufts |
| davallia | Any fern of the genus Davallia |
| doodia, rasp fern | Any fern of the genus Doodia having pinnate fronds with sharply dentate pinnae |
| false bracken, Culcita dubia | resembles Pteridium aquilinum |
| felt fern, tongue fern, Pyrrosia lingua, Cyclophorus lingua | east Asian fern having fronds shaped like tongues |
| filmy fern, film fern | Any fern of the genus Hymenophyllum growing in tropical humid regions and having translucent leaves |
| flowering fern, osmund | Any fern of the genus Osmunda |
| flowering fern, Helminthostachys zeylanica | Australasian fern with clusters of sporangia on stems of fertile fronds |
| giant scrambling fern, Diplopterygium longissimum | large scrambling fern forming large patches to 18 feet high |
| gold fern, Pityrogramma chrysophylla | fern of West Indies and South America having fronds with bright golden-yellow undersides |
| golden fern, leather fern, Acrostichum aureum | stout tropical swamp fern (especially tropical America) having large fronds with golden yellow sporangia covering the undersides |
| golden fern, Pityrogramma calomelanos aureoflava | Tropical American fern having fronds with light golden undersides |
| golden polypody, serpent fern, rabbit's-foot fern, Phlebodium aureum, Polypodium aureum | Tropical American fern with brown scaly rhizomes cultivated for its large deeply lobed deep bluish-green fronds |
| grape fern | A fern of the genus Botrychium having a fertile frond bearing small grapelike clusters of spore cases |
| grass fern, ribbon fern, Vittaria lineata | epiphytic fern found in lowland forests / forests of tropical America |
| hand fern, Doryopteris pedata | Tropical American fern with coarsely lobed to palmatifid fronds |
| hard fern | Any of several ferns of the genus Blechnum |
| hart's-tongue, hart's-tongue fern, Asplenium scolopendrium, Phyllitis scolopendrium | Eurasian fern with simple lanceolate fronds |
| hart's-tongue, hart's-tongue fern, Olfersia cervina, Polybotrya cervina, Polybotria cervina | Tropical American terrestrial fern with leathery lanceolate fronds |
| hay-scented, hay-scented fern, scented fern, boulder fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula | fern of eastern North America with pale green fronds and an aroma / aroma like hay |
| holly fern | Any of various ferns of the genus Polystichum having fronds with texture and gloss like holly |
| holly fern, Cyrtomium aculeatum, Polystichum aculeatum | Tropical Old World fern having glossy fronds suggestive of holly |
| lace fern, Cheilanthes gracillima | small tufted fern of northwestern America |
| lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina | Most widely grown fern of the genus Athyrium for its delicate foliage |
| leather fern, leatherleaf fern, ten-day fern, Rumohra adiantiformis, Polystichum adiantiformis | widely distributed fern of tropical southern hemisphere having leathery pinnatifid fronds |
| lecanopteris | Any of several bizarre ferns of the genus Lecanopteris having swollen hollow rhizomes that provide homes for symbiotic ants |
| limestone fern, northern oak fern, Gymnocarpium robertianum | Yellow-green fern of rocky areas of northern hemisphere |
| lip fern, lipfern | Any of various terrestrial ferns of the genus Cheilanthes |
| maidenhair, maidenhair fern | Any of various small to large terrestrial ferns of the genus Adiantum having delicate palmately branched fronds |
| marsh fern, Thelypteris palustris, Dryopteris thelypteris | fern having pinnatifid fronds and growing in wet places |
| mountain fern, Oreopteris limbosperma, Dryopteris oreopteris | Common European mountain fern having fragrant lemon or balsam / balsam scented fronds |
| oak fern, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Thelypteris dryopteris | bright blue-green fern widely distributed especially in damp acid woodlands of temperate northern hemisphere |
| oleander fern, Oleandra neriiformis, Oleandra mollis | Tropical fern having leathery fronds resembling oleander |
| ostrich fern, shuttlecock fern, fiddlehead, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteretis struthiopteris, Onoclea struthiopteris | tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes |
| pecopteris | Carboniferous fossil fern characterized by a regular arrangement of the leaflets resembling a comb |
| pine fern, Anemia adiantifolia | fern of Florida and West Indies and Central America with rhizome densely clad in grown hairs |
| polypody | Any of numerous ferns of the genus Polypodium |
| potato fern, Solanopteris bifrons | small epiphytic fern of South America with tuberous swellings along rhizomes |
| potato fern, Marattia salicina | large Australasian evergreen fern with an edible rhizome sometimes used as a vegetable by indigenous people |
| ribbon fern, spider fern, Pteris serrulata | fern of North Africa and Azores and Canary Islands |
| rock brake | Dwarf deciduous lithophytic ferns |
| scale fern, scaly fern, Asplenium ceterach, Ceterach officinarum | small European fern with chaffy leathery fronds |
| scented fern, Mohria caffrorum | sweetly scented African fern with narrow bipinnate fronds |
| scolopendrium | A fern thought to resemble a millipede |
| sensitive fern, bead fern, Onoclea sensibilis | beautiful spreading fern of eastern North America and eastern Asia naturalized in western Europe |
| shield fern, buckler fern | Any of various ferns of the genera ... / genera Dryopteris or Polystichum or Lastreopsis having somewhat shield-shaped coverings on the sori |
| silver fern, Pityrogramma argentea | fern of southern tropical Africa having fronds with white undersides |
| silver fern, Pityrogramma calomelanos | Tropical American fern having fronds with white undersides |
| silvery spleenwort, glade fern, narrow-leaved spleenwort, Athyrium pycnocarpon, Diplazium pycnocarpon | North American fern with narrow fronds on yellowish leafstalks |
| silvery spleenwort, Deparia acrostichoides, Athyrium thelypteroides | fern with elongate silvery outgrowths enclosing the developing spores |
| snake polypody, Microgramma-piloselloides | epiphytic ferns with long rhizomes |
| spider brake, spider fern, Pteris multifida | Asiatic fern introduced in America |
| spleenwort | Any of various chiefly rock-inhabiting ferns of the genus Asplenium |
| staghorn fern | Any of various tropical ferns of the genus Platycerium having large flat lobed fronds often resembling the antlers of a stag |
| strap fern | fern with long narrow strap-shaped leaves |
| sword fern | Any of several tropical ferns having more or less sword-shaped fronds including one from which the Boston fern developed |
| tree fern | Any of numerous usually tropical ferns having a thick woody stem or caudex and a crown of large fronds |
| umbrella fern, fan fern, Sticherus flabellatus, Gleichenia flabellata | large Australasian fern with fanlike repeatedly forked fronds |
| wood fern, wood-fern, woodfern | Any of various ferns of the genus Dryopteris |
| woodsia | Any fern of the genus Woodsia |
| Broader | pteridophyte, nonflowering plant | plants having vascular tissue and reproducing by spores |
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| Spanish | helecho, helechos |
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| Catalan | falaguera, falguera |
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| Adjectives | ferny | abounding in or covered with ferns |
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| ferny | resembling ferns especially in leaf shape |
