climbing fern

American  

noun

1. any of several chiefly tropical, vinelike ferns of the genus Lygodium, having climbing or trailing stems.

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Etymology

Origin of climbing fern

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

Mr. Kekwick found a number of new plants, among them a fine climbing fern.

From Explorations in Australia The Journals of John McDouall Stuart by Stuart, John McDouall

For inside and in shady situations the following are suitable: tradescantia, parlour ivy, moneywort, vinca smilax, climbing fern, asparagus fern, dracæna, coleus, centaurea, sword fern, and Boston fern.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study by Ontario. Ministry of Education

If the position is a shaded one, the drooping plants might be of the following: tradescantia, Kenilworth ivy, senecio* or parlor ivy, sedums, moneywort,* vinca, smilax,* lygodium* or climbing fern.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by Bailey, L. H. (Liberty Hyde)

And where some area appears not under cultivation, the climbing fern and a coarse, useless "lalang" grass covers every inch of ground.

From Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation by Hornaday, William Temple

One handsome climbing fern clothes the trunks of tall trees; another which climbs on grasses and the smaller shrubs is common; and another forms almost impenetrable thickets 15 or 20 feet high.

From The Heart of Nature or, The Quest for Natural Beauty by Younghusband, Francis Edward, Sir