adder's-tongue


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ad·der's-tongue

(ăd′ərz-tŭng′)
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adder's-tongue

n
1. (Plants) any of several terrestrial ferns of the genus Ophioglossum, esp O. vulgatum, that grow in the N hemisphere and have a spore-bearing body that sticks out like a spike from the leaf: family Ophioglossaceae
2. (Plants) another name for dogtooth violet
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ad′der's-tongue`



n.
1. any of various ferns of the genus Ophioglossum and family Ophioglossaceae, having a tall fruiting spike resembling a snake's tongue.
2. any of several American dogtooth violets.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
The abundant plant life includes agrimony, Dyer's greenweed, St John's wort, adder's-tongue fern, cowslip and common twayblade, as well as early purple orchid, common spotted orchid, bee orchid, and greater butterfly orchid, which occur in glades in the scrub.
Members of Ophioglossales and Polypodiales belong to the division Polypodiophyta and are often called "true ferns." The order Ophioglossales in Alabama include the adder's-tongue ferns (Ophioglossum) and grapeferns (Botrychium).
The area supports a rich variety of plants such as agrimony, dyer's greenweed, St John's wort, adder's-tongue fern, cowslip, and common twayblade, as well as early purple orchid, common spotted orchid, bee orchid, and greater butterfly orchid.