tree fern

American

noun

any of various ferns, mostly tropical and chiefly of the family Cyatheaceae, that attain the size of trees, sending up a straight trunklike stem with foliage at the summit.

tree fern British

noun

any of numerous large tropical ferns, mainly of the family Cyatheaceae , having a trunklike stem bearing fronds at the top

"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 tree fern

First recorded in 1840–50

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.

The most similar modern counterpart might be Dicksonia antarctica, a type of tree fern native to Australasia, but popular in Britain as an ornamental plant.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024

Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant.

From Science Daily • Jan. 29, 2024

Now the first full tree fern genome has been successfully sequenced—that of the flying spider-monkey tree fern—hinting at how these peculiar plants accrued such a massive set of genes.

From Scientific American • Sep. 23, 2022

The DNA of the flying spider monkey tree fern contained evidence of a whole genome duplication around 100 million years ago, and the genome has remained remarkably stable since then.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2022

He released my foot, whirled, cavorted, and, as I seized a tree fern on the bank, went heels over head over the cliff.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

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