: any of various ferns that grow chiefly on or among rocks: as
a. : evergreen wood fern 1
b. : a finely divided tropical Asiatic and Australasian fern (Cheilanthes tenuifolia) that has been implicated in Australia in an acute intoxication of cattle
c. : any of several chiefly tropical ferns of the genus Asplenium
Useful english dictionary. 2012.