Meanings
plural Wardian cases
- An early kind of protective container for transporting plants etc.
1 more example
We had brought with us from the Botanical Gardens in Queensland several Wardian cases filled with banana suckers, mangoes, and other varieties of fruit trees, as well as a supply of vegetable seeds - melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers, all of which, in due time, partially supplied the want experienced by every member of the community of a supply of kitchen garden produce.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 121
Origin
Named after its inventor, Nathaniel B. Ward, + -ian.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Wardian case. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wardian%20case
“Wardian case.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wardian%20case. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wardian case,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wardian%20case.
Source: Wardian case on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.