fern vs nonflowering plant

fern and nonflowering plant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
fern	Yes	No	No	No
nonflowering plant	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, nonflowering plant is a hypernym of fern; that is, nonflowering plant is a word with a broader meaning than fern:

fern: any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
nonflowering plant: plants having vascular tissue and reproducing by spores

Other hypernyms of fern include pteridophyte.

fern (noun)	nonflowering plant (noun)
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores	plants having vascular tissue and reproducing by spores