any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
"The damp corner of the garden was perfect for planting the fern, whose delicate fronds slowly uncurled as they reached for the sunlight."
Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of vascular plants classified in the division Pteridophyta that lack seeds and reproduce by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.
"After hiking through the damp, mossy ravine, I spotted several lush ferns reproducing via their tiny brown spores instead of flowers or seeds."
A female given name from the fern plant.
"When Fern started her new job, everyone asked if she was named after the greenery or just chose a nature-inspired name like many of her colleagues."