The ferns are a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.
Cheilanthes, commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and evergreen. The leaves, often densely covered in trichomes, spring directly from the rootstocks. Many of them are desert ferns, curling up during dry times and reviving with the coming of moisture. At the ends of veins sporangia, or spore-bearing structures, are protected by leaf margins, which curl over them.
Dicksoniaceae is a group of tropical, subtropical and warm temperate ferns, treated as a family in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, and counting 30-40 species. Alternatively, the family may be sunk into a very broadly defined family Cyatheaceae sensu lato as the subfamily Dicksonioideae. Most of the genera in the family are terrestrial ferns or have very short trunks compared to tree ferns of the family Cyatheaceae sensu stricto. However, some of the larger species can reach several metres in height. A number of others are epiphytes. They are found mostly in tropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere, as far south as southern New Zealand. Larger tree ferns in the genus Cibotium were formerly included in Dicksoniaceae, but are now segregated as the family Cibotiaceae.
Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera, divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recognized as separate families: the adiantoid, cheilanthoid, pteridoid, and hemionitidoid ferns. Relationships among these groups remain unclear, and although some recent genetic analyses of the Pteridales suggest that neither the family Pteridaceae nor the major groups within it are all monophyletic, as yet these analyses are insufficiently comprehensive and robust to provide good support for a revision of the order at the family level.
The Athyriaceae are a family of terrestrial ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae, and includes two genera. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Athyrioideae of a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae. The family has with a cosmopolitan distribution.
Blechnum, known as hard fern, is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are used by different authors. In the PPG I system, based on Gasper et al. (2016), Blechnum is one of 18 genera in the subfamily Blechnoideae, and has about 30 species. Other sources use a very broadly defined Blechnum s.l., including accepting only two other genera in the subfamily. The genus then has about 250 species. In the PPG I circumscription, the genus is mostly neotropical, with a few southern African species.
Austroblechnum penna-marina, synonym Blechnum penna-marina, known as Antarctic hard-fern, alpine water fern and pinque, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, with a natural range from the Araucanía Region to the south and from the coast to the tree line of the Magellanic forests in Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina. It is also found in New Zealand, Australia and some Pacific islands. It is evergreen and grows to 20 cm (8 in).
Cystopteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae of the order Polypodiales, and includes three genera. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Cystopteridoideae of a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae.
The genus Dendrolycopodium is a clubmoss genus in the family Lycopodiaceae. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is placed in the subfamily Lycopodioideae. Some sources do not recognize the genus, sinking it into Lycopodium. It is treated as section Obscura when retained within Lycopodium. The genus includes a discrete group of plants with similar morphologies. All have erect to semi-erect, branched stems.
Vittarioideae is a subfamily of the fern family Pteridaceae, in the order Polypodiales. The subfamily includes the previous families Adiantaceae and Vittariaceae.
Cheilanthoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the fern family Pteridaceae. The subfamily is thought to be monophyletic, but some of the genera into which it has been divided are not, and the taxonomic status of many of its genera and species remains uncertain, with radically different approaches in use as of December 2019.
Pseudolycopodiella caroliniana, known as slender bog club-moss, is a species of lycophyte in the family Lycopodiaceae. The genus Pseudolycopodiella is accepted in the Flora of North America and the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications, which submerge the genus in Lycopodiella. The species has a discontinuous distribution, being native to the eastern United States and to parts of eastern Asia.
Austroblechnum lehmannii is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Galápagos Islands.
Pterozonium is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. Species are mainly found in north-western South America, as well as Costa Rica.
Polytaenium is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae. Species are native to Mexico and Southern America.
Radiovittaria is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae. Species are native to southeast Mexico and northern Southern America.
Rheopteris is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae with a single species, Rheopteris cheesmaniae, in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Other sources sink the genus into Monogramma, a genus not recognized in PPG I. The species is native to New Guinea.
Scoliosorus is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae with a single species, Scoliosorus ensiformis. The species is native to Mexico and Central America.
Vaginularia is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Other sources sink the genus into Monogramma, a genus not recognized in PPG I.
Trachypteris is a small genus of ferns in the subfamily Cheilanthoideae of the family Pteridaceae. Three species are native to the tropical South America, one to Madagascar.
