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resurrection fern

American  

noun

  1. a drought-resistant, evergreen, epiphytic fern, Polypodium polypodioides, of subtropical to tropical America, appearing to be a ball of coiled, dead leaves in the dry season but reviving with moisture.

Etymology

Origin of resurrection fern

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Its forests are dominated by wind-tortured live oaks draped with Spanish moss and greened by resurrection fern, gnomish and ceaselessly amazing.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2018

Up above, on the sloping branches of oak trees, whiskery bromeliads, Spanish moss and the gray fronds of resurrection fern tangled in a miniature jungle all their own.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.