asplenium

noun

any fern of the very large genus Asplenium, of worldwide distribution. Some, esp the bird's nest fern (A. nidus), are grown as greenhouse or house plants for their decorative evergreen fronds: family PolypodiaceaeSee also spleenwort

Word Origin for asplenium

New Latin, from Latin asplēnum, from Greek asplēnon spleenwort, from a- not + splēn spleen (from its reputed medicinal properties)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for asplenium

Historical Examples of asplenium

Some species of Polypodium, the Asplenium Trichomanes, and other ferns, grow on the adjacent parts of the mountain.
Lachesis Lapponica
Carl von Linn
Asplenium septentrionale is very common in most of the districts where crystalline rocks abound.
The Story of the Hills
H. N. Hutchinson
In others again (Woodwardia orientalis, Asplenium bulbiferum), buds are numerously produced on the upper surface of the fronds.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7
Various
Another common and readily grown species is the lady fern (Asplenium filixfœmina) (Fig. 70, H).
Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany
Douglas Houghton Campbell
In addition to the plants I have gathered, Asplenium nidus it very common.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The
William Griffith