HOLLY FERN

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does holly fern mean? 

• HOLLY FERN (noun)
  The noun HOLLY FERN has 2 senses:

1. any of various ferns of the genus Polystichum having fronds with texture and gloss like holly

2. tropical Old World fern having glossy fronds suggestive of holly; sometimes placed in genus Polystichum

  Familiarity information: HOLLY FERN used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HOLLY FERN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various ferns of the genus Polystichum having fronds with texture and gloss like holly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("holly fern" is a kind of...):

fern (any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "holly fern"):

Braun's holly fern; Polystichum braunii; prickly shield fern (North American fern whose more or less evergreen leathery fronds are covered with pale brown chafflike scales)

northern holly fern; Polystichum lonchitis (evergreen European fern widely cultivated)

Polystichum scopulinum; western holly fern (North American fern)

Holonyms ("holly fern" is a member of...):

genus Polystichum; Polystichum (small to medium-sized terrestrial ferns especially holly ferns; in some classification systems placed in Polypodiaceae)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tropical Old World fern having glossy fronds suggestive of holly; sometimes placed in genus Polystichum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Cyrtomium aculeatum; holly fern; Polystichum aculeatum

Hypernyms ("holly fern" is a kind of...):

fern (any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores)