rabbit's-foot fern

English

Davallia canariensis showing the rhizomes

Noun

rabbit's-foot fern (plural rabbit's-foot ferns)

1. Any fern in the genus Davallia (including those formerly classified in a separate genus, Humata), often grown as houseplants for their foliage and for their furry-looking rhizomes that grow partly above ground.

   Synonyms: hare's-foot fern, squirrel's-foot fern, bear's-foot fern, deer's-foot fern, ball fern

2. A similar fern in the related family Polypodiaceae, of species Phlebodium aureum.

Usage notes

• A number of reference works are quite specific about which species have which common name out of the synonym list above, but different references assign them to different species-there doesn't seem to be complete agreement on any one species across even most of the references. The most common assignments for "rabbit's-foot fern" seem to be Davallia canariensis, Davallia fejeensis, and Phlebodium aureum, while "bear's-foot fern" seems to be reserved for former "Humata" species such as Davallia tyermannii- but all of the species have been named "rabbit's-foot fern" in at least one work and all of them have been given one of the other names in at least one work.