moonwort

American  

[moon-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈmunˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

1. any fern of the genus Botrychium, especially B. lunaria, a rare fern having fronds with crescent-shaped leaflets.

2. honesty.

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moonwort British  

/ ˈmuːnˌwɜːt /

noun

1. Also called (US): grape fern.  any of various ferns of the genus Botrychium, esp B. lunaria, which has crescent-shaped leaflets

2. another name for honesty

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Etymology

Origin of moonwort

First recorded in 1570–80; moon + wort ²

Example Sentences

Thin, green marsh fern circled lakes alongside moonwort, rattlesnake fern and horsetail.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2016

We have one to correspond with the adder's tongue and moonwort, with the Adiantum nigrum and Capillus Veneris, with the Blechnum boreale, with the Ceterach and Ruta muraria, and with the Cystopterids.

From A First Year in Canterbury Settlement by Butler, Samuel

One could easily find a rationalistic explanation of this sentiment, of course, but it is akin to a superstition entertained in some parts that wherever the moonwort flourishes the owner of the garden is honest.

From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin

Gerard says of the herb true-love or moonwort, p.

From Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England by Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. (James Orchard)

Soldanel, sol′da-nel, n. a plant of the genus Soldanella, of the order Primulace�—the blue moonwort.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various