Christmas fern

noun

1. an evergreen fern, Polystichum acrostichoides, having dense clusters of stiff fronds growing from a central rootstock.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Christmas fern¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

For example, she made a second Christmas fern where the leaflets were cut separately instead of together, along with other changes that were more precise.

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“There are some wonderful ferns that grow at the base of beech trees,” she said, pointing to the Christmas fern, evergreen but prone to lie flat after a hard freeze.

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In late fall and winter, the Christmas fern’s fronds lie flat on the ground, allowing it to duck out of winter’s worst weather.

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The Christmas fern is one of the easiest ferns to grow and takes a range of conditions.

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And she will eventually bring back the ramps, bloodroot, Mayapple, trout lily and Christmas ferns she and her students had carefully moved out of harm’s way.

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