male fern

American  

noun

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

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of male fern

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

male fern

The extract of male fern used should have a guaranteed strength of 22 to 25 per cent of filicine and 3.5 per cent of filicic acid.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

The liquid extract of male fern is the only drug used with much success.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

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

From The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter

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

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

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