polypody

American  

[pol-ee-poh-dee] / ˈpɒl iˌpoʊ di /

noun

polypodies plural

1. any fern of the genus Polypodium, as P. vulgare, having creeping rootstocks, deeply pinnatifid evergreen fronds, and round, naked sori.

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polypody British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌpəʊdɪ /

noun

1. any of various ferns of the genus Polypodium, esp P. vulgare, having deeply divided leaves and round naked sori: family Polypodiaceae

2. any fern of the family Polypodiaceae, all having opaque leaves that are divided in most species

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• polypodies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of polypody

1400–50; late Middle English polypodye < Latin polypodion < Greek polypódion (> New Latin Polypodium ); see poly-, -pod, -ium

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

polypody polypodies

I learned that the roots of the polypody do a great impression of licorice, and that Scotch pine is also called “Finnish rosemary.”

From Washington Post

The church stands above the road, and beside it a large old tree, whose lower branches are so abundantly covered with polypody that the fronds hang like long fringes from either side of each branch.

From Devon, Its Moorlands, Streams and Coasts by Northcote, Rosalind

Max looked up at the mouldering walls, with their crevices dotted with patches of polypody and ruta muraria, velvety moss, and flaunting golden sun ragwort, and wondered whether the place was ever attacked.

From Three Boys or the Chiefs of the Clan Mackhai by Fenn, George Manville

The question whether these projections can be considered an indication of former polypody in insects has been raised.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

"Take the stinking oil drawn out of polypody of the oak by a retort, mixed with turpentine and hive-honey, and anoint your bait therewith, and it will doubtless draw the fish to it."

From The Compleat Angler by Walton, Izaak

Ribbonlike spikemoss and delicate polypodies crept neatly over rock faces.

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2019

Their stipes are not jointed to the root stock, nor are their sori at the ends of the veins as in the polypodies.

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

It grows just it the spray of a waterfall—this and this; they are polypodies.

From The Old Helmet, Volume II by Warner, Susan

The beech ferns are often classed with the polypodies, because, like them, they have no indusium; but in other ways they are more akin to the wood ferns.

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

Often called "Limestone Polypody," the beech ferns having formerly been classed with the polypodies.

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