A large genus of tropical ferns characterized by strap-like or heart-shaped fronds, commonly called staghorn ferns.
From Greek elaphē (deer) plus glōssa (tongue), literally 'deer-tongue,' named for the fern's shape. The resemblance to a deer's tongue inspired the scientific name.
Fern names are wildly poetic—staghorn, maidenhair, bracken—and Elaphoglossum proves botanists saw deer tongues when looking at ferns, which tells you how careful observation shapes scientific imagination!
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