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

Further study revealed that this tree fern, known as Cyathea rojasiana, transforms the inner part of its dead or dying leaves.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 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 palm, the tree fern, and bamboo here flourish in free luxuriance.

From The Cliff Climbers A Sequel to "The Plant Hunters" by Reid, Mayne

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