king fern n 1: fern of rain forests of tropical Australia and New Zealand and South Africa [syn: {crepe fern}, {king fern}, {Todea barbara}] 2: large deeply rooted fern of worldwide distribution with upright bipinnate compound tufted fronds [syn: {royal fern}, {royal osmund}, {king fern}, {ditch fern}, {French bracken}, {Osmunda regalis}]