shield fern

/ʃild fərn/

Other forms: shield ferns

Definitions of shield fern

1. noun

   any of various ferns of the genera Dryopteris or Polystichum or Lastreopsis having somewhat shield-shaped coverings on the sori
   synonyms: buckler fern

   types:

   Dryopteris dilatata, broad buckler-fern

   European shield fern

   Dryopteris goldiana, Goldie's fern, Goldie's shield fern, goldie's wood fern

   North American fern with a blackish lustrous stipe

   Polystichum setiferum, soft shield fern

   European shield fern cultivated in many varieties

   type of:

   fern

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