ferns

Noun

fern (plural ferns)

1. 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.
   • Beyond here the tides are not felt, and we now entered upon a district of elevated forest, with a finer vegetation. Large trees stretch out their arms across the stream, and the steep, earthy banks are clothed with ferns and zingiberaceous plants.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 103

   Synonyms:

   Filicophyta

2. (broadly) A light green color inspired by the color of ferns.

See all 4 meanings of fern