polypody

[ pol-ee-poh-dee ]

/ ˈpɒl iˌpoʊ di /

any fern of the genus Polypodium, as P. vulgare, having creeping rootstocks, deeply pinnatifid evergreen fronds, and round, naked sori.

Origin of polypody

1400–50; late Middle English polypodye < Latin polypodion < Greek polypódion (> New Latin Polypodium); see poly-, -pod, -ium

The form of the polypody is strangely interesting, it is even outlandish.

How to Know the Ferns |Frances Theodora Parsons
The walls were all full of rue, and polypody, and crane's-bill—a growth of years—which no one was allowed to touch.

Mrs. Severn, Vol. 1 (of 3) |Mary Elizabeth Carter
It took the name of Polypody from its jagged leaves, upon which the seeds or spores appear in bright orange spots.

Chatterbox, 1905. |Various
To any of these pastes you may add "assafœtida, oil of polypody of the oak, oil of ivy, or oil of Peter."

Sporting Society, Vol. I (of 2) |Various

The polypody ferns, being evergreen, look very well too, and will thrive facing all four points of the compass.

Small Gardens |Violet Purton Biddle

polypody

/ (ˈpɒlɪˌpəʊdɪ) /

any of various ferns of the genus Polypodium, esp P. vulgare, having deeply divided leaves and round naked sori: family Polypodiaceae

any fern of the family Polypodiaceae, all having opaque leaves that are divided in most species

C15: from Latin polypodium, from Greek, from poly- + pous foot