male fern

American  

noun

1. a bright-green fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, of Europe and northeastern North America.

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male fern British  

noun

1. a fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, having scaly stalks and pinnate fronds with kidney-shaped spore-producing bodies on the underside: family Polypodiaceae

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Etymology

Origin of male fern

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

Powdered male fern, a quarter of an ounce.

From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by Dadd, George

Often, about the same spots where the male fern flourishes, the Shield Fern displays its fronds, larger and broader, but fewer in number, and prettily toothed along their edges.

From Chatterbox, 1905. by Various

He left the male fern and mullein until the last for different reasons.

From The Harvester by Stratton-Porter, Gene

Now, only a week before Christmas, the male fern is still in handsome green masses; Blechnum is still good, and common Polypody at its best.

From Wood and Garden Notes and thoughts, practical and critical, of a working amateur by Jekyll, Gertrude

Occasionally, by the side of a copse, we may come upon a great bed of the male fern, which frequently keeps green all the winter.

From Chatterbox, 1905. by Various