Gleicheniales

Gleicheniales is an order of ferns in the subclass Polypodiidae (the leptosporangiate ferns). The Gleicheniales has spore records potentially as early as the Early Carboniferous, but the oldest unambiguous macrofossil records date to the Early Permian.

The forked ferns are the family Gleicheniaceae, which includes eight genera and about 160 known species. The formerly independent families Dicranopteridaceae and Stromatopteridaceae are generally included in the Gleicheniaceae, whereas the Dipteridaceae and Matoniaceae, although closely related, are considered separate families by most authors.

The Dipteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Gleicheniales of the class Polypodiopsida. They are commonly known as umbrella ferns and contain two genera, Cheiropleuria and Dipteris, with a total of nine species confined to Asia, New Guinea and northern Australia While currently a small family, they were much more abundant in the Mesozoic era, with the oldest fossils being known from the Middle Triassic of Italy, Australia and Argentina. Seven fossil genera are recognised, including Hausmannia, Clathropteris, Dictyophyllum, Thaumatopteris, Camptopteris, and Polyphacelus.

Matoniaceae is one of the three families of ferns in the Gleicheniales order of the Polypodiopsida class. Fossil records reveal that Matoniaceae ferns were abundant during the Mesozoic era (about 250-million to 66-million years ago), during which they lived on every continent, including Antarctica, with eight genera and 26 species, with the oldest known specimens being from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. Today the family is much less abundant, and also less diverse, with only two extant genera and four species, which are limited to portions of southeastern Asia.

species of plant

Sticherus is a genus of about 80–90 species of fern.

Dicranopteris (forkedfern) is a genus of tropical ferns of the family Gleicheniaceae. There are about 20 described species.

species of plant

Matonia is a genus of fern, named for English botanist William George Maton. It is native to Thailand, Malesia (the Malayan peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Maluku and the Philippines) and New Guinea.

Diplopterygium is a genus of ferns in the family Gleicheniaceae.

species of plant

Dipteris is a genus of about seven species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, particularly Asia, with a species in northeastern Queensland in Australia. It is one of two genera in the family Dipteridaceae.

Phanerosorus is a genus of ferns in the family Matoniaceae.

species of plant

species of fern

Cheiropleuria is a genus of ferns in the family Dipteridaceae. Species are found in both temperate and tropical eastern Asia.

species of plant

species of plant

species of plant

Stromatopteris is a genus of ferns in the family Gleicheniaceae, endemic to New Caledonia. The only species in the genus is Stromatopteris moniliformis. Its closest relative is the more widespread genus Gleichenia.

Gleichenella is a genus of ferns in the family Gleicheniaceae with a single described species, Gleichenella pectinata.