Schizaeaceae is a family of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s in the order

Schizaeales Schizaeales is an order of ferns (class Polypodiopsida). Description While the three clades of Schizaeales are all well-distinguished from one another by numerous morphological characters, members of the order all have dimorphic fertile and s ...

. In the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, or PPG, is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relatio ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I), it includes only two genera. Alternatively, two families kept separate in PPG I, Lygodiaceae and Anemiaceae, may be included in Schizaeaceae (as the subfamilies Lygodioideae and Anemioideae) so that the family has four genera. In this approach, the Schizaeaceae of PPG I is treated as the subfamily Schizaeoideae. Species are mainly distributed in the tropics, but several are found in temperate regions in North America, South Africa, Australasia and Northeast Asia. The

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cyc ...

are borne on specialised pinnae, distinct from ordinary vegetative pinnae. The pinnae form small comb-like, pinnate structures on which the sporangia are formed.

Genera

In the narrow

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of the family, there are two genera: *'' Actinostachys'' Wall *'' Schizaea'' Sm. Two further genera are included in the broader circumscription: *''

Anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, t ...

'' Sm. – otherwise placed in the monotypic family Anemiaceae *''

Lygodium ''Lygodium'' (climbing fern) is a genus of about 40 species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, with a few temperate species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is the sole genus in the family Lygodiaceae in the Pte ...

'' Sw. – otherwise placed in the monotypic family Lygodiaceae

References

Schizaeales Fern families {{Polypodiidae-stub