Schizaeaceae
- Related Topics:
- climbing fern
- ray fern
- curly grass fern
- Anemia
- Polypodiales
Schizaeaceae, fern family (order Filicales), which contains two genera (Schizaea and Actinostachys) and about 46 species. The family has a long fossil record, with records dating back to the Late Cretaceous Epoch (about 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago). The genera are usually found in tropical and subtropical regions.
The family is considered relatively primitive because of the characteristic large individually produced sporangia (spore-bearing structures) with a ring of thickened cells known as the annulus around the apex; the sporangia are usually borne on special leaflets and lack a covering membrane. Underground, the ferns usually feature highly branched rhizomes that either form clumps or are creeping.
The curly grass ferns, or comb ferns, are any of about 30 species in the genus Schizaea. The unusual leaves are grasslike, and the sporangia are only borne on the lobes of distinct fertile fronds. The 16 species of ray ferns of the genus Actinostachys have leaf blades that are reduced to a very narrow strip on either side of the midrib.
The genera Lygodium and Anemia are sometimes included in the family Schizaeaceae but are more commonly placed in their own families, Lygodiaceae and Anemiaceae, respectively.