Wardian case

American  

[wawr-dee-uhn] / ˈwɔr di ən /

noun

1. a type of terrarium having a top and sides of glass.

2. a case used for transporting plants, having wood sides and a glass top protected by wood slats.

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wardian case British  

/ ˈwɔːdɪən /

noun

1. a type of glass container used for housing delicate ferns and similar plants

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Etymology

Origin of Wardian case

1835–45; named after Nathaniel B. Ward (1791–1868), English botanist; see -ian

Example Sentences

A forerunner of the terrarium, the Wardian case was a miniature greenhouse, the size of a large toolbox, that protected specimens during the long and perilous sea voyages back to home base.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2016

First is the Wardian case, invented around 1830 by Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, a medical doctor and amateur.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2016

The gnome, cunningly sitting inside a kind of mini-indoor greenhouse called a Wardian case, can usually be found on the estate, by the clock tower.

From New York Times • May 20, 2013

Then his eyes strayed over the polished floor and the dull-hued rugs, over ebony and ivory cabinets and stiff-backed chairs, to be fixed, finally, by a huge Wardian case.

From The Junior Classics — Volume 8 Animal and Nature Stories by Patten, William

At any rate, you cannot find a more interesting inmate of your Wardian case than some large geometrical spider.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 106, August, 1866 by Various