Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years

The answer to “Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years” in the New York Times crossword is FERNS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 1, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 44-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years” answer

FERNS (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is FERNS.

What does FERNS mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of FERNS is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 1, 2026 (most recent) → FERNS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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