Ophioglossum
/ˌɒfɪəˈɡlɒsəm/ /ˌəʊfɪəˈɡlɒsəm/Botany
noun
A genus of small primitive ferns of the family Ophioglossaceae, consisting of an undivided sterile blade at the base of which arises a long-stalked narrow fertile blade bearing two rows of sporangia; (also ophioglossum) a fern of this genus, an adder's tongue.
- Valid publication of the genus name: Linnaeus Species Plantarum (1753) II. 1062, after earlier use by C. Bauhin (Pinax (1671) 354)..
Origin
Late 16th century; earliest use found in Philip Barrough (fl. 1590), medical writer. From post-classical Latin ophioglosson from Hellenistic Greek ὀϕιο- + ancient Greek γλῶσσα tongue, with allusion to the shape of the fertile blade.