Family: Polypodiaceae — polypody family

Species in the Polypodiaceae are ferns with stems that creep on rock or thin soil over rock. The evergreen leaves may be arched so that their tips are hanging downwards. The leaves are once-divided, with lobes or leaflets on opposite sides of the central axis. The round sori are found on the underside of the leaves in two rows on each leaflet and are not covered by an indusium. The polypody family now contains only the genus Polypodium in New England, but once contained many more genera. These genera are now contained within one of eight additional families: the Aspleniaceae, Blechnaceae, Dennstaedtiaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Onocleaceae, Pteridaceae, Thelypteridaceae, or the Woodsiaceae.

This family’s genera in New England

• Polypodium

Visit this family in the Dichotomous Key

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