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

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

The etheral extract of male fern in two dram doses may be given; fast, and follow in the course of a couple of hours by a brisk purgative; that is, calomel followed by salts.

From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson

The male fern resembles the marginal shield fern in outline, but the fronds are thinner, are not evergreen, and the sori are near the midvein.

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

The root of the male fern, a nostrum for the cure of the tape worm, was secretly retailed by Madame Noufleur.

From Thaumaturgia by Oxonian, An

They are cowhage, scammony, male fern root, calomel, gamboge, tin, and turpentine.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous