Why are fronds...?

Question

Why do the latins use the word frond to describe the ferns and palms?

Answer 1

Frond has the following meanigs in various dictionaries .

A)Frond is =
i) The leaf of a fern.
ii) A large compound leaf of a palm.
iii) A leaflike thallus, as of a seaweed or lichen.
[Latin frōns, frond-, foliage.]

B)The leaflike part of a fern; the leaf of a palm.

C) compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad

D) 1. an often large, finely divided leaf, esp. as applied to the ferns and certain palms.
2. a leaflike expansion not differentiated into stem and foliage, as in lichens.

E ) 1. frond, leaf, leafage, foliage
usage: compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad

Now we can have a better idea about frond.

Frond is definitely a compound leaf in which a number of INDEPENDENT leaflets are attached to a common axis called RACHIS OR RHACHIS ( As in fern.)

See pictures below-( Fern)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fern_frond_pinnate.jpg

Fan palm- http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/BDX/BDX130/bxp28425.jpg

A coconut tree with fronds at the top
http://fida.da.gov.ph/Coco%20tree.jpg

Answer 2

A frond is the leaf- like structure of a fern or alga. The term is colloquially applied to the leaves of palms, cycads, and plants with pinnately compound leaves. A significant difference is that, unlike the leaves of the latter, fern fronds bear the reproductive structures (spore-bearing structures) of the sporophyte plant. Because many ferns grow fronds that are held more vertical than horizontal, the "upper" and "lower" surfaces of a frond are more correctly referred to as the adaxial and abaxial surfaces, respectively.

Answer 3

According to the website listed below, "frons" is the Latin word meaning "leafy branch, foliage, or bough". Frond comes from frons.