fern

fern

noun \ˈfərn\

Definition of FERN

: any of a division (Filicophyta) or class (Filicopsida) of flowerless spore-producing vascular plants having alternating sporophyte and gametophyte generations; especially : any of an order (Filicales) of homosporous plants possessing roots, stems, and leaflike fronds — compare seed fern

— fern·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— ferny \ˈfər-nē\ adjective

Origin of FERN

Middle English, from Old English fearn; akin to Old High German farn fern, Sanskrit parṇa wing, leaf

First Known Use: before 12th century

fern

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

The life cycle of the fern. (1) Clusters (sori) of sporangia (spore cases) grow on the undersurface …—© Merriam-Webster Inc.

Any of about 10,000–12,000 species (division Pteridophyta) of nonflowering vascular plants that have true roots, stems, and complex leaves and reproduce by spores. Though ferns were once classified with the primitive horsetails and club mosses, botanists have since made a clear distinction between the scalelike, one-veined leaves of those plants and the more complexly veined fronds of the ferns, which are more closely related to the leaves of seed plants. Ferns come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Many are small, fragile plants; others are treelike (see tree fern). The life cycle is characterized by an alternation of generations between the mature, fronded form (the sporophyte) familiar in greenhouses and gardens and the form that strongly resembles a moss or liverwort (the gametophyte). Ferns are popular houseplants.