hart's-tongue

American  

[hahrts-tuhng] / ˈhɑrtsˌtʌŋ /

Or harts-tongue

noun

1. a fern, Phyllitis scolopendrium, having long, leathery, wavy-edged leaves.

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hart's-tongue British  

noun

1. an evergreen Eurasian fern, Asplenium scolopendrium, with narrow undivided fronds bearing rows of sori: family Polypodiaceae

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Etymology

Origin of hart's-tongue

First recorded in 1275–1325, hart's-tongue is from Middle English hertis tonge. See hart, 's ¹, tongue

Example Sentences

The boys exchanged glances, and Josh stole out one hand, pulled a hart’s-tongue fern up by the roots, and, with admirable aim, pitched it so that it fell right on the sleeper’s chest.

From Will of the Mill by Fenn, George Manville

But Sandy McCray was a cautious man, and before he had gone many yards he had stooped to dig up half-a-dozen hart’s-tongue ferns, which he placed, with a fair quantity of leaf-mould, in his basket.

From The Sapphire Cross by Fenn, George Manville

The sound of running water and the brilliant green of the grass, as well as the masses of long hart's-tongue ferns falling abundantly from the churchyard wall, all tell of perpetual moisture.

From Cornwall by Mitton, G. E. (Geraldine Edith)

And it might be that the ferns would be dead—all but the hart's-tongue; which, though moisture-loving, can yet, like the athlete, train itself to endure and abide thirsty and unslaked.

From Bog-Myrtle and Peat Tales Chiefly of Galloway Gathered from the Years 1889 to 1895 by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

Near by, within a palisade, is the old castle well, with hart's-tongue ferns growing on the damp brick lining.

From What to See in England A Guide to Places of Historic Interest, Natural Beauty or Literary Association by Home, Gordon