01 n. any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.
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1.
any of several tall ferns of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes.
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2.
New World fern (Osmunda cinnamonea) having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds, called also fiddlehead fern; the early uncurling fronds are edible, and sometimes considered as a vegetable delicacy. Also: fiddlehead fern
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3.
an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. Sometimes it serves the function of a billhead.(Naut.) See: billhead
Syn.
ostrich fern, shuttlecock fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteretis struthiopteris, Onoclea struthiopteris. — Syn. -- cinnamon fern, fiddlehead fern, Osmunda cinnamonea.