Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves called microphylls and reproduce by means of spores borne in sporangia on the sides of the stems at the bases of the leaves. Although living species are small, during the Carboniferous, extinct tree-like forms (Lepidodendrales) formed huge forests that dominated the landscape and contributed to coal deposits.
A pteridophyte is a vascular plant that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden.
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.
Microsorum is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The species are tropical. Like most ferns, they grow from rhizomes, rather than roots. The genus name is often misspelled "Microsorium" or "Microsoreum". It includes some species that are lithophytic rheophytes.
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.
Alsophila jimeneziana, synonym Cyathea crassa, is a species of tree fern endemic to the Dominican Republic. Little is known about this rare tree fern.
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.
Aleuritopteris is a genus of ferns in the Cheilanthoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. As with some other genera of the Cheilanthoideae, molecular phylogenetic studies have suggested that it is not monophyletic, and so may need to be circumscribed differently in future.
Neocheiropteris is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I).
Saccoloma is a fern genus in family Saccolomataceae. It is the only genus in the family in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but further investigation is needed. It is pantropical and its species are found in wet, shaded forest areas. Saccoloma species are characterized by an omega-shaped (Ω) vascular bundle in the cross-sections of their petioles. The common name soralpouch fern is used for Saccoloma.
The Lomariopsidaceae is a family of ferns with a largely tropical distribution. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae of the order Polypodiales. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Lomariopsidoideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato.
Doodia is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, in the suborder Aspleniineae. It is named after Samuel Doody (1656-1706), an English botanist. Distribution of the genus includes parts of Australia and New Zealand.
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.
Tectariaceae is a family of leptosporangiate ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Polypodiineae. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Tectarioideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato. The family comprises seven genera, of which Tectaria is by far the largest.
Diplaziopsidaceae 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, and includes two genera. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Diplaziopsidoideae of a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae.
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.
Cephalomanes atrovirens is a species of fern in the family Hymenophyllaceae. The genus Cephalomanes is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not by some other sources. As of October 2019, Plants of the World Online sank the genus into a broadly defined Trichomanes, while treating the subtaxa of this species as the separate species Trichomanes acrosorum, Trichomanes atrovirens, Trichomanes boryanum and Trichomanes kingii.
Lemmaphyllum is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I).
