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

The slow growth also means that the tree fern is short enough that when its fronds die, they droop all the way to the ground.

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

In May, Dr. Li led a team that sequenced the full genome of the flying spider monkey tree fern, to try to get an answer.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2022

Seeing that she is accompanied by a gentleman in khaki he discreetly withdraws out of hearing and tidies up a tree fern.

From Mrs. Warren's Daughter A Story of the Woman's Movement by Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir

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