1. 1  a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout. 2  work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy. 3  a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.
Unfurling fiddlehead fern frond. A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the large leaves of cycads and palms (Arecaceae).
Fern leaves grow from a rhizome. Fern leaves are fan-shaped and also play an important role in reproduction. The production of spores occurs in structures called sporangia. These structures are found on the surface of the fronds, usually on the underside of the leaf. When the sporangia or spore casings dry out, the dispersal of spores occurs into the atmosphere. Certain fern species date back nearly 400 million years. There are about 12,000 fern species.