wood fern

noun

1. any of several shield ferns of the genus Dryopteris.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wood fern¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Streams meander past wood ferns and mountain laurel.

From New York Times

And if you have shade, you could do worse than plant the showy, upright Dixie wood fern, which Dietrich admires, along with the related autumn fern.

From Washington Post

Under an oak grove formerly carpeted with lawn, the gardeners have converted the area to ground-cover plantings of the autumn fern variety Brilliance in a combination with the Dixie wood fern.

From Washington Post

This is a natural hybrid of two wood fern species.

From Washington Post

By now, the nautilus-shell curls of nascent Dixie wood ferns and cinnamon ferns that I saw will surely be unfurled.

From New York Times