Traditional groups var. tenera'' As traditionally defined, the groups within Pteridaceae are as follows: •
Adiantoid ferns (tribe
Adianteae ); epipetric, terrestrial or
epiphytic in moist habitats, rachis often dichotomously branching; sori relatively small and discrete with
sporangia born on the false indusium rather than the leaf blade proper; only one genus: •
Adiantum L. – maidenhair ferns •
Cheilanthoid ferns; primarily epipetric in semiarid habitats; leaves mostly with well-developed scales or
trichomes, often bipinnate or otherwise highly compound; sporangia mostly born in marginal sori with false indusia that are ± continuous around the leaf margins; several genera, including: •
Argyrochosma (J.Sm.) Windham – false cloak ferns •
Aspidotis (Nutt. ex Hook.) Copel. – lace ferns •
Astrolepis D.M.Benham & Windham – cloak ferns •
Cheilanthes Sw. – lip ferns •
Myriopteris Fée – lace lip ferns •
Notholaena R.Br. – cloak ferns •
Pellaea Link – cliff brakes); terrestrial and epipetric in moist habitats; leaves mostly without prominent scales or trichomes, most often
pinnate but sometimes more compound; sporangia born in marginal sori with false indusia that are ± continuous around the leaf margins; several genera, including: •
Pteris L. – brakes •
Onychium Kaulf.);
aquatic in swamps and/or mangroves, including: •
Acrostichum L. – leather ferns •
Ceratopteris Brongn.); primarily epiphytic in tropical regions and all have simple leaves with sori that follow the veins and lack true indusia: •
Anetium •
Antrophyum •
Hecistopteris •
Monogramma •
Vittaria – Shoestring fern
Subfamilies Based on phylogenetic research, Christenhusz
et al. (2011) divided the Pteridaceae genera into five subfamilies. These roughly correspond with the groups listed above, with the main difference being that
adiantoid and
vittarioid ferns are combined under the Vittarioideae subfamily name. The approach was followed by the
Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). •
Cryptogrammoideae :Genera:
Coniogramme,
Cryptogramma,
Llavea •
Parkerioideae {{syns|Ceratopteridoideae| :Genera:
Acrostichum,
Ceratopteris •
Pteridoideae :Genera:
Actiniopteris,
Anogramma,
Austrogramme,
Cerosora,
Cosentinia,
Gastoniella,
Jamesonia (incl.
Eriosorus and
Nephopteris),
Onychium,
Pityrogramma,
Pteris (incl.
Neurocallis &
Platyzoma),
Pterozonium,
Syngramma,
Taenitis,
Tryonia •
Cheilanthoideae :Genera:
Adiantopsis,
Aleuritopteris,
Allosorus,
Argyrochosma,
Aspidotis,
Astrolepis,
Bommeria,
Calciphilopteris,
Cheilanthes,
Cheiloplecton,
Doryopteris,
Gaga,
Hemionitis,
Lytoneuron,
Mildella,
Myriopteris,
Notholaena,
Ormopteris,
Paragymnopteris,
Parahemionitis,
Pellaea,
Pentagramma,
Trachypteris •
Vittarioideae The oldest fossil of the family is
Heinrichsia from the early Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian) aged
Burmese amber of
Myanmar, which cannot be assigned to modern grouping of the family. Molecular clock evidence suggests a diversification of the family during the Late Cretaceous. Phylogeny of
Pteridaceae. == Distribution and habitat ==