A compound leaf — that is, a leaf with many fine and deep divisions — is a frond, such as on ferns and palm trees. In parts of the United States and Canada, you may eat the fronds of fiddlehead ferns, which are cooked and served as a vegetable.
Although commonly referring to the leafy part of a fern or palm, the noun frond can also refer to anything that has a similar shape to a palm frond or fern frond. If your bedhead is really bad, people may joke about you combing your fronds. The fronds of the ice crystals glistened in the sunlight.
