adder's-tongue
Americannoun
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a fern of the genus Ophioglossum, having one or sometimes two sterile leaves and a fruiting spike.
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any of several American dogtooth violets.
noun
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any of several terrestrial ferns of the genus Ophioglossum, esp O. vulgatum, that grow in the N hemisphere and have a spore-bearing body that sticks out like a spike from the leaf: family Ophioglossaceae
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another name for dogtooth violet
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She eventually struck gold, discovering dozens of the rare ferns - called the least adder's-tongue fern - growing on a small patch of heath land.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2024
As for the least adder's-tongue fern, it can still be found growing on St Agnes, Rosemary visited recently when the local wildlife trust organised a special trip for her.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2024
The current record-holder for most base pairs — 149 billion — is a flowering plant with the scientific name Paris japonica; the record-holder for most chromosomes — 1,440 — is the adder’s-tongue fern.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
And one tall yellow flower was called a dogtooth violet but was different and was really an adder’s-tongue.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
The plants of this group agree in their general structure with the adder’s-tongue, which is a thoroughly typical representative of the group; but nevertheless, there is much variation among them in the details of structure.
From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
