Venus hair fern

noun

variants or Venus' hair fern or less commonly Venus hair

plural Venus hair ferns or Venus' hair ferns also Venus hairs

: a maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) that grows chiefly on moist calcareous rocks and has delicate fronds with fan-shaped, lobed pinnae (see pinna sense 2) : southern maidenhair fern

Word History

First Known Use

1551, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

Venus hair fern

noun

variants or Venus' hair fern or Venus hair

: a delicate maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) that has been used in the preparation of expectorants and demulcents