Schizaeaceae is a family of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

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 (PPG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relationships discove ...

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.

Distribution

Species are mainly distributed in the tropics, but several are found in temperate regions in North America, South Africa, Australasia and Northeast Asia.

Description

The

sporangia A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...

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 anthr ...

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

Anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

'' 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