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

As a rule the male fern acts promptly and well.

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

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 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

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