maidenhair fern

British  

/ ˈmeɪdənˌhɛə /

noun

1. any fern of the cosmopolitan genus Adiantum, esp A. capillis-veneris, having delicate fan-shaped fronds with small pale-green leaflets: family Adiantaceae

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Etymology

Origin of maidenhair fern

C15: so called from the hairlike appearance of its fine fronds

Example Sentences

Jianbin Yan, a plant physiologist at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’s Agricultural Genomics Institute, and colleagues found similar parallels in a maidenhair fern, Adiantum capillus-veneris.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 22, 2022

And then, sure, like I like to take on a fun challenge now and again with a more difficult plant to care for — but I have never been successful keeping a maidenhair fern alive.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2021

In explaining the utility of plant collecting for the gardener, he points out a clump of Southern maidenhair fern, a species not considered hardy in northern states.

From Washington Post • Sep. 11, 2019

High above the creek a spring seeps from the cliff face, irrigating a growth of moss and maidenhair fern that hangs from the rock in lush green mats.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

She spoke of the maidenhair fern, with its striking black stems, and the hay-scented fern that smelled, remarkably, like hay.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood