seed fern

American

noun

any of various plants of the order Lyginopteridales (or Cycadofilicales), known only as fossils, having fernlike leaves and reproducing by means of seeds.

seed fern British

noun

another name for pteridosperm

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of seed fern

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

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The finds also include the remains of an ancient seed fern called Dicroidium, which could help to settle a debate over the species' history.

From Nature

This fragment of a fossilized seed fern was freed from the rock that preserved it using strong acid.Credit:

From Nature

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