lady fern

American  

noun

1. a fern, Athyrium filix-femina, having delicate, feathery fronds.

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lady fern British  

noun

1. a large, graceful, but variable fern, Athyrium filix-femina, with bipinnate fronds, commonly found on damp acid soils in woods and on hillsides

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Example Sentences

Several species grow in our woods, including the ubiquitous sensitive fern, the unusual Goldie’s fern and the finely textured lady fern with its attractive reddish midstem.

From New York Times • May 24, 2012

She knew where lady fern grew and phantom orchids and warted giant puffballs.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

For grace and dignity it is unrivaled, and for aggressiveness it is, perhaps, equaled only by the lady fern.

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

Nearly all agree that the lady fern, with its variously curved sori, should be placed here, and many others would place the silvery spleenwort in the same genus, partly because of its frequently doubled sori.

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

In the ostrich fern and lady fern the plants are diœcious.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton