|
|||||||||
Dryopteridaceae Habit: Perennial herb, in soil or rock crevices; rhizome generally short-creeping, suberect, or erect, scales large, generally tan to brown, generally uniformly colored. Leaf: generally tufted, 5--200+ cm, generally +- alike; stipe generally firm, base generally darker, with many vascular strands; blade 1--4-pinnate, often with scales, hair-like scales, hairs (except clear, needle-like hairs generally 0), or short-stalked glands on axes, between veins or not, veins free to netted; rachis, costa generally grooved adaxially. Sporangia: sori round, along veins; indusia peltate or round-reniform; spores elliptic, winged, ridged, or spiny, scar linear. Genera In Family: +- 40--45 genera, > 1600 species: worldwide, especially tropics, wooded areas. Note: Based on molecular sequence data, Athyrium, Cystopteris, Woodsia removed to Woodsiaceae to preserve a monophyletic Dryopteridaceae. Unabridged Note: Current data (as reported by Schuettpelz & Pryer and in papers cited therein) suggest that Wooodsiaceae is paraphyletic (with respect to Aspeniaceae, Blechnaceae, and Thelypteridaceae), yet are insufficient to resolve the questions of circumscription (too few taxa, not enough genes sampled). Alternative classifications that would preserve monophyly include recognition of several additional, small families (e.g., Cystopteridaceae, Athyriaceae, and others not in California, each comprising just a few genera) or lumping at least 4 currently recognized families, many of long-standing use and acceptance; a conservative and expedient course is taken for now (Smith et al. 2006), pending further work. Jepson eFlora Author: Alan R. Smith Reference: Schuettpelz & Pryer 2007 Taxon 56:1037--1050; Smith et al. 2006 Taxon 55:705--731 Unabridged Reference: Smith, A.R. et al. 2006. A classification for extant ferns. Taxon 55:705--731; Schuettpelz, E. and K.M. Pryer 2007. Fern phylogeny inferred from 400 leptosporangiate spp. and three plastid genes. Taxon 56: 1037--1050. Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti. Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Key to Dryopteridaceae Previous taxon: Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens Next taxon: Cyrtomium |