maidenhair fern

/ ˈmeɪdənˌhɛə /

noun

1. any fern of the cosmopolitan genus Adiantum, esp A. capillis-veneris, having delicate fan-shaped fronds with small pale-green leaflets: family Adiantaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of maidenhair fern¹

C15: so called from the hairlike appearance of its fine fronds

Example Sentences

In 2019, Corteva reported that genes for proteins found in maidenhair ferns could protect soybeans from soybean looper and velvetbean caterpillars, and since then both groups have sharpened their focus on ferns.

From Science Magazine

Q: Can someone help resolve a problem I am having with my maidenhair ferns?

From Seattle Times

Jianbin Yan, a plant physiologist at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’s Agricultural Genomics Institute, and colleagues found similar parallels in a maidenhair fern, Adiantum capillus-veneris.

From Science Magazine

And then, sure, like I like to take on a fun challenge now and again with a more difficult plant to care for — but I have never been successful keeping a maidenhair fern alive.

From Los Angeles Times

The maidenhair fern has tiny, fanlike leaflets that dance in a spiral, like a mobile by Calder.

From Washington Post