spleenwort

American  

[spleen-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈsplinˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

1. any of various temperate and tropical ferns of the genera Asplenium and Diplazium, certain species of which are grown as ornamentals.

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spleenwort British  

/ ˈspliːnˌwɜːt /

noun

1. any of various ferns of the genus Asplenium, esp A. trichomanes, that often grows on walls, having linear or oblong sori on the undersurface of the fronds See also asplenium

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Etymology

Origin of spleenwort

First recorded in 1570–80; spleen + wort ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spleenwort

Plant maidenhair spleenwort in a container, where you can appreciate its beauty up close.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

Tufted spleenwort, primroses, and broom tangle the hedges under boughs of hornbeam and sweet-chestnut.

From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Third series by Symonds, John Addington

She recognised many familiar points en route, the bank where the spleenwort grew, the ruined shed, a supposed relic of smuggling days, the barbed-wire fence, the group of elder trees, and the blackberry bank.

From Monitress Merle by Brazil, Angela

The Scott's spleenwort, on the dedication page, is reprinted from Clute's "Our Ferns in Their Haunts."

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

She paused at every excuse—now to watch a robin hopping, now to look at a pink lady's-slipper abloom in a bed of spleenwort, now for no reason at all.

From The Side Of The Angels A Novel by King, Basil