royal fern

American  

noun

1. a coarse fern, Osmunda regalis, having tall, upright fronds.

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royal fern British  

noun

1. a fern, Osmunda regalis , of damp regions, having large fronds up to 2 metres (7 feet) in height, some of which are modified for bearing spores: family Osmundaceae

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Etymology

Origin of royal fern

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

The royal fern has large, rounded leaflets with spores clustered like dried seed heads at the ends of their fronds.

From Washington Post

You associate some of the lower plantings with moist soil — the royal fern, turtlehead and creeping phlox, for example — but others you’d think would run a mile from flood.

From Washington Post

Everyone in the city knew it, from bus stops and benches and lawn signs; it was as common in New Orleans as live oak or royal fern.

From Literature

She came to rest on a royal fern.

From Literature

Though it dates from the early Jurassic, it is in essence similar to its modern relatives, the royal ferns, which might thus reasonably be described as living fossils.

From Economist