Forest plants

Editorially verified for the Oct 18, 2026

26 Down

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Fern fronds spread across a shaded woodland floor.

Clue explained

Ferns are common forest plants, especially in shady, damp spots. Unlike flowering plants, they reproduce with spores, often found in clusters on the undersides of their fronds. Their unfurling new shoots, called fiddleheads, are a familiar sign of spring in many woodlands.

Clue type:
Definition

WaPo Crossword

This clue's Sunday, October 18, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Come & Get It! pet food brand
  2. 5"Scrubs" role for Judy Reyes
  3. 10Some language exams
  4. 15Escalator part
  5. 19Large Hadron Collider org.
  6. 20Orca habitat
  7. 21Upgrade, as machinery
  8. 22Simplicity
  9. 23Fizzled out
  10. 24Versace parent company
  11. 25"12-Point Type: A History"?
  12. 27Prankster?
  13. 30Fortune
  14. 31Corporate VIPs
  15. 32Dance club version, say
  16. 34Like fabric in a quilting kit
  17. 38Silver-white metal
  18. 41Audition hopeful
  19. 43Like a car made between 1919 and 1930
  20. 44"You for Me" singer Rita
  21. 45Cut-rate vacation rentals?
  22. 49Issa of "Insecure"
  23. 50Chutney fruit
  24. 52D-backs st.
  25. 53Chimp kin
  26. 54Helsinki native
  27. 55Perform terribly
  28. 56Barbie's boo
  29. 57IRS convenience
  30. 58Pickles
  31. 59Rowlands with an Honorary Academy Award
  32. 60Poor grade
  33. 61Played a pipe in a parade
  34. 62Figure in the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition
  35. 63Decorative jugs
  36. 65Teams
  37. 66Home network need
  38. 67"MasterChef" host Gordon
  39. 69Bank investment?
  40. 70Word with brow or blow
  41. 71__ bean
  42. 74Noisy, as a crowd
  43. 75Driveway brick
  44. 76With 16-Down, official cocktail of the city of Oakland
  45. 77Shot in the arm, say
  46. 78Eyelash treatment
  47. 79Basic framework
  48. 80Frames
  49. 81Leftover
  50. 82Playpen denizen
  51. 83Motto of a therapist who uses origami to teach anger management?
  52. 86Cake mix need
  53. 87Traditional source of wood for baseball bats
  54. 89On the periphery
  55. 90"No __!"
  56. 92Had a snack
  57. 93Fillable flatbreads
  58. 95H-Town ALer
  59. 96Gain back
  60. 98Morning-after-the-wedding stories?
  61. 104Useful tool in making some Thanksgiving pies?
  62. 108Vedder of Pearl Jam
  63. 109Make mittens, perhaps
  64. 110Winged archer
  65. 111Primer mes del año
  66. 112PowerPoint unit
  67. 113Periphery
  68. 114Well-worn trail
  69. 115Showed again
  70. 116Words to live by
  71. 117Short message of gratitude

Down

  1. 1Adapter letters
  2. 2"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope" speaker
  3. 3Slice and dice, perhaps
  4. 4Coming right up
  5. 5"Priscilla" writer/director Sofia
  6. 6Ranch units
  7. 7Raise
  8. 8Some pub pals
  9. 9"Devious Maids" star
  10. 10Magic, on sports tickers
  11. 11Form of energy healing
  12. 12Tack on
  13. 13"Not one word of this is true!"
  14. 14Walking noisily
  15. 15The continents, e.g.
  16. 16See 76-Across
  17. 17PC "oops" key
  18. 18Split __ soup
  19. 26Forest plants
  20. 28Hoka rival
  21. 29Highlighter hue
  22. 33Automatic drip-brew pioneer
  23. 35One with next-level skills in being thoughtful and compassionate?
  24. 36Tanzania neighbor
  25. 37Wee
  26. 38Claim on some menus
  27. 39Mighty mad
  28. 40The dog days of summer?
  29. 41Correspond
  30. 42Adam's eldest
  31. 43Ivy, for one
  32. 46Tools with teeth
  33. 47Zodiac ram
  34. 48Un-locked?
  35. 51Really bothers
  36. 54Mozilla web browser
  37. 57Down source
  38. 58Figure, casually
  39. 60Towel off
  40. 61Fin
  41. 62"I don't have all day!"
  42. 64Tuner's asset
  43. 65Cut
  44. 66Damp
  45. 67Lanai furniture material
  46. 68Melodic passage
  47. 69Strike zone?
  48. 70Pulitzer-winning rapper Kendrick
  49. 72Brink
  50. 73Wise words
  51. 75Leader of the Holy See
  52. 76Attic pests
  53. 77Strong urge
  54. 79Big name in classic travel guides
  55. 80Disorderly place
  56. 83Primp
  57. 84Island feast
  58. 85Springsteen's __ Band
  59. 88Clobber
  60. 91"Guardians of the Galaxy" voice role for Bradley Cooper
  61. 93Overly inquisitive sort
  62. 94Prefix with structure
  63. 95Slyly cutting
  64. 97Hathaway of "The Odyssey"
  65. 99Just chilling
  66. 100All-father of Norse myth
  67. 101Roddick who was the last American man to win the US Open
  68. 102__ in a blanket
  69. 103Half note feature
  70. 104Energy
  71. 105Cy Young stat
  72. 106Basic bed
  73. 107Long time

The answer to “Forest plants” in the The Washington Post crossword is FERNS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on October 18, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 26-Down. 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.

“Forest plants” 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.

(noun)

  • a flowerless plant which has feathery or leafy fronds and reproduces by spores released from the undersides of the fronds. Ferns have a vascular system for the transport of water and nutrients

When else has “Forest plants” appeared?

The Washington Post 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.

October 18, 2026 (most recent) → FERNS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Forest plants”?

The answer is FERNS, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on October 18, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Forest plants”?

5 letters: FERNS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Washington Post crossword on October 18, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 26-Down.

Can “Forest plants” have a different answer?

Yes — The Washington Post sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's WaPo Crossword answers?

The full grid for October 18, 2026 is on the WaPo Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

The Washington Post Crossword is published by The Washington Post; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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