The Dryopteridaceae are a family of leptosporangiate ferns in the order Polypodiales. They are known colloquially as the wood ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae.

Description

The rhizomes are often stout, creeping, ascending, or erect, and sometimes scandent or climbing, with nonclathrate scales at apices. Fronds are usually monomorphic, less often dimorphic, or sometimes scaly or glandular, but less commonly hairy. Petioles have numerous round, vascular bundles arranged in a ring, or rarely as few as three; the adaxial bundles are largest. Veins are pinnate or forking, free to variously anastomosing; the areoles occur with or without included veinlets; sori are usually round, acrostichoid (covering the entire abaxial surface of the lamina) in a few lineages; usually indusiate, or sometimes exindusiate. Indusia, when present, are round-reniform or peltate. Sporangia have three-rowed, short to long stalks; spores are reniform, monolete, perine or winged.|

The PPG I classification divides the family into three subfamilies, listed below.

  • Subfamily Polybotryoideae <small>H.M.Liu & X.C.Zhang</small>
  • Cyclodium <small>C.Presl</small>
  • Maxonia <small>C.Chr.</small>
  • Olfersia <small>Raddi</small>
  • Polybotrya <small>Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.</small>
  • Polystichopsis <small>(J.Sm.) Holttum</small>
  • Stigmatopteris <small>C.Chr.</small>
  • Trichoneuron <small>Ching</small>
  • Subfamily Elaphoglossoideae <small>(Pic.Serm.) Crabbe, Jermy & Mickel</small>
  • Arthrobotrya <small>J.Sm.</small>
  • Bolbitis <small>Schott</small>
  • Elaphoglossum <small>Schott ex J.Sm.</small>
  • Lastreopsis <small>Ching</small>
  • Lomagramma <small>J.Sm.</small>
  • Megalastrum <small>Holttum</small>
  • Mickelia <small>R.C.Moran, Labiak & Sundue</small>
  • Parapolystichum <small>(Keyserl.) Ching</small>
  • Pleocnemia <small>C.Presl</small>
  • Rumohra <small>Raddi</small>
  • Teratophyllum <small>Mett. ex Kuhn</small>
  • Subfamily Dryopteridoideae <small>Link</small>
  • Arachniodes <small>Blume</small>
  • Ctenitis <small>(C.Chr.) C.Chr.</small>
  • Cyrtomium <small>C.Presl</small>
  • Dryopteris <small>Adans.</small>
  • Phanerophlebia <small>C.Presl</small>
  • Polystichum <small>Roth</small>
  • Stenolepia

Didymochlaena has been removed to Didymochlaenaceae, and Hypodematium and Leucostegia to Hypodematiaceae. Aenigmopteris has at times been suggested to belong to this family, on the grounds of its morphological similarity to Ctenitis, but molecular phylogeny has led to its submersion within Tectaria (Tectariaceae). Dryopolystichum has been placed in Lomariopsidaceae.

References

Bibliography

  • Phytotaxa