Thelypteridaceae

Moderately large terrestrial ferns, rarely climbing and proliferous. Rhizome dictyostelic, usually creeping but sometimes short and erect, non-dorsiventral, sparsely clothed with non-peltate, non-clathrate scales which bear unicellular needle-like or more rarely branched hairs on the margins and sometimes on the surfaces. Stipes usually sparsely scaly near the base with the upper and middle portions hairy, not articulated to the rhizome, with 2 vascular bundles near the base but these uniting into a U-shaped bundle higher in the stipe. Fronds uniform or rarely subdimorphic. Lamina mostly 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, rarely bipinnate or more compound, oblong or elliptic, never broadly deltoid-quinquangular, often clothed with simple, whitish, unicellular or rarely 2-celled, needle-like hairs, frequently with round, glandular hairs, reduced pinnae often present towards the lower portion of the lamina, aerophores often occurring at the base of each pinna. Veins all free or with veinlets from adjacent lobes confluent into an excurrent vein which usually runs to a callous sinus (Fig. 22). Sori orbicular or rarely elongated, borne dorsally on the veins or rarely terminal. Indusium reniform-orbicular or rarely oblong, sometimes absent, mostly clothed with needle-like hairs and/or glandular hairs. Sporangia smooth or bearing stiff hairs. Paraphyses often present. Spores bilateral mostly with a perispore. c. 29 gen., mostly trop. and subtrop.