Christmas fern

American  

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Christmas fern

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

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

From Washington Post • Jul. 8, 2015

“This is one of my favorites. The appearance is similar to Christmas fern but lighter in color and more robust,” he said.

From Washington Post • Jul. 8, 2015

But Esther Carpi’s red beet, Mary Paige Hickey’s Christmas fern and Lee Boulay D’Zmura’s radish are no less precisely rendered.

From Washington Post • Dec. 26, 2014

The Christmas fern, with its glistening leaves of holly green, has a stout, creeping rootstock, which must be firmly secured, a few stones being added temporarily to the hairpins to give weight.

From The Garden, You, and I by Wright, Mabel Osgood

Its southern limits nearly coincide with the northern limits of the Christmas fern.

From The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada by Tilton, George Henry