Dryopteridaceae

Dryopteridaceae
Dryopteris carthusiana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Herter (nom. cons.)
Subfamilies
Synonyms
  • Bolbitidaceae Ching 1978
  • Elaphoglossaceae Pichi-Sermolli 1968
  • Filicaceae de Jussieu 1789 nom. ill.
  • Peranemataceae Ching 1940 non Buetschli 1884

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.[1] Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Dryopteridoideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato.[2]

The family contains about 1700 species and has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species may be terrestrial, epipetric, hemiepiphytic, or epiphytic. Many are cultivated as ornamental plants.[3] The largest genera are Elaphoglossum (600+), Polystichum (260), Dryopteris (225), and Ctenitis (150). These four genera contain about 70% of the species.[4] Dryopteridaceae diverged from the other families in eupolypods I about 100 million years ago.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PPGI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ChriChas14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Olsen-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith-2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schuettpelz-2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).