Cyatheaceae Temporal range: | |
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Cyathea glauca | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Cyatheales |
Family: | Cyatheaceae Kaulf. |
Genera | |
Synonyms | |
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The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). [1] Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly (Cyatheaceae sensu lato ) as the only family in the Cyatheales, with the PPG I family treated as the subfamily Cyatheoideae. [2] The narrower circumscription is used in this article.
The family includes the world's tallest tree ferns, which reach heights up to 20 m. They are also very ancient plants, appearing in the fossil record in the late Jurassic, though the modern genera likely appeared in the Cenozoic. Cyatheaceae are the largest family of tree ferns, including about 640 species. [1] Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae, together with Metaxyaceae and Cibotiaceae, do not form a strongly supported monophyletic group and could be paraphyletic, but several individual subgroups are well supported as being monophyletic. Cyatheaceae are leptosporangiate ferns, the most familiar group of monilophytes. [3]
The Cyatheaceae usually have a single, erect or creeping rhizome (stem). Their fronds (leaves) are also very large, although not as large as the tree ferns of the Marattiaceae. Some species have fronds reaching 3–4 m in length, and have a final crown width of some 6 m. The fronds are circinate before unfolding and usually pinnately or bipinnately compound, with deeply pinnately lobed leaflets. The large leaves are covered in scales and hairs, and bear sori (spore clusters) on their undersides. [4] The sori are often covered by a flap of tissue called an indusium, a useful characteristic for classifying the Cyatheaceae. Some indusia are cup-shaped (cyatheoid), while others are hood-shaped (hemitelioid), enclose the sorus (sphaeropteroid), or scaly. Like most ferns, members of the Cyatheaceae are homosporous. Cyatheaceae are found in both New and Old World tropical wet montane forests and cloud forests, with some species extending into south-temperate regions. [3] Most Cyatheaceae are terrestrial, with one being a facultative epiphyte and others having a creeping habit.
Cyatheaceae can be distinguished from arborescent Dicksonia by the presence of scales, the position of the sori, and the morphology of sporangia and spores. [5] In the Cyatheaceae, the sori occur away from the margins of the pinnules, and are elongate or rounded.
As of 2019 [update] , two different circumscriptions of the family Cyatheaceae are used, as summarized in the table below. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is one of eight in the order Cyatheales, and has three genera. [1] In the classification of Christenhusz & Chase (2014), the family is the only one in the order Cytheales, the families of PPG I being reduced to subfamilies. It then has 13–14 genera. [2] The sensu stricto circumscription of PPG I is used here.
PPG I (2016) | Christenhusz & Chase (2014) |
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Order Cyatheales A.B.Frank | Order Cyatheales A.B.Frank |
Family Cyatheaceae Kaulf. | |
Family Thyrsopteridaceae C.Presl | Subfamily Thyrsopteridoideae B.K.Nayar |
Family Loxsomataceae C.Presl | Subfamily Loxsomatoideae Christenh. |
Family Culcitaceae Pic.Serm | Subfamily Culcitoideae Christenh. |
Family Plagiogyriaceae Bowe | Subfamily Plagiogyrioideae Christenh. |
Family Cibotiaceae Korall | Subfamily Cibotioideae Nayer |
Family Metaxyaceae Pic.Serm. | Subfamily Metaxyoideae B.K.Nayar |
Family Dicksoniaceae M.R.Schomb. | Subfamily Dicksonioideae Link |
Family Cyatheaceae Kaulf. | Subfamily Cyatheoideae Endl. |
Since the exact number of species is not known, classification of the Cyatheaceae s.s. has had a long and controversial history, and is still undergoing revision. Three tentative clades have been developed: Alsophila, Cyathea, and Sphaeropteris. These are frequently used as genus names. Cnemidaria, Trichopteris (or Trichipteris), and Nephelea (or Nephelia) have also been suggested as genera. Initially, indusium and scale morphology were used to organize the Cyatheaceae into taxonomic ranks. Most recently, plastid DNA has been used, suggesting the Cyatheaceae should be split into four clades: Sphaeropteris , Cyathea , Alsophila , and Gymnosphaera + A. capensis. As of 2007 [update] , it remained unclear which of these groups should be considered genera and which subgenera. [3]
The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I) accepts three genera, placing the Gymnosphaera clade within Alsophila: [1]
Dong and Zuo 2018 [6] | Nitta et al. 2022 [7] and Fern Tree of life [8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thelypteridaceae is a family of about 900 species of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae. Alternatively, the family may be submerged in a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae as the subfamily Thelypteridoideae.
Schizaeales is an order of ferns.
Osmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.
Marattiaceae is the only family of extant (living) ferns in the order Marattiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, Marattiales is the only order in the subclass Marattiidae. The family has six genera and about 110 species. Many are different in appearance from other ferns, having large fronds and fleshy rootstocks.
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. Alternatively, it may be treated as the subfamily Dryopteridoideae of a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato.
The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms from a vertical rhizome, others have shorter or horizontal expanding rhizomes.
The order Polypodiales encompasses the major lineages of polypod ferns, which comprise more than 80% of today's fern species. They are found in many parts of the world including tropical, semitropical and temperate areas.
Oleandra is a genus of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it is the only genus in the family Oleandraceae, which is placed in suborder Polypodiineae, order Polypodiales. Alternatively, the family may be placed in a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae sensu lato as the subfamily Oleandroideae.
Blechnaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Its status as a family and the number of genera included have both varied considerably. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, the family has 24 genera, and excludes genera placed in the separate family Onocleaceae. The family is divided into three subfamilies, including Blechnoideae s.s. Alternatively, the entire family may be treated as the subfamily Blechnoideae s.l. of a very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae, and include genera others place in Onocleaceae.
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.
Sphaeropteris is a genus of tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae. It has been treated as a subgenus within the genus Cyathea, but is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016.
Gymnosphaera is a genus of tree ferns in family Cyatheaceae.
The Hymenophyllaceae, the filmy ferns and bristle ferns, are a family of two to nine genera and about 650 known species of ferns, with a subcosmopolitan distribution, but generally restricted to very damp places or to locations where they are wetted by spray from waterfalls or springs. A recent fossil find shows that ferns of Hymenophyllaceae have existed since at least the Upper Triassic.
Alsophila is a genus of tree ferns in the family Cyatheaceae. It has also been considered to be a section in the subgenus Cyathea of the genus Cyathea.
The Polypodiidae, commonly called leptosporangiate ferns, formerly Leptosporangiatae, are one of four subclasses of ferns, the largest of these being the largest group of living ferns, including some 11,000 species worldwide. The group has also been treated as the class Pteridopsida or Polypodiopsida, although other classifications assign them a different rank. Older names for the group include Filicidae and Filicales, although at least the "water ferns" were then treated separately.
Plagiogyria is a genus of ferns, the only genus in family Plagiogyriaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the family may be treated as the subfamily Plagiogyrioideae of a very broadly defined family Cyatheaceae, the placement used for the genus in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019.
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.
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.
Metaxya is a neotropical genus of ferns in the order Cyatheales. It is the only genus in the family Metaxyaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the genus may be placed in the subfamily Metaxyoideae of a more broadly defined family Cyatheaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019.