Barnsley fern

noun

A fern-like fractal involving four affine transformations.

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Meanings

nounBarnsley fern (plural Barnsley ferns)

plural Barnsley ferns

  1. computer graphicsA fern-like fractal involving four affine transformations.

Origin

Named after the British mathematician Michael Barnsley, who first described it in his book Fractals Everywhere.

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Cite this entry
APA

Barnsley fern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barnsley%20fern

MLA

“Barnsley fern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barnsley%20fern. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Barnsley fern,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barnsley%20fern.

Source: Barnsley fern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.