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Rhizome short-to long-creeping, prostrate to erect, often branched or stoloniferous; rhizome scales narrowly triangular, basally attached; roots rarely proliferous. Fronds ± monomorphic, scattered or tufted. Stipe ± terete, glabrous or scaly, with scattered caducous glandular hairs or persistent eglandular hairs (the latter often confined to the adaxial surface); basal scales similar to those on the rhizome. Lamina 1–5-pinnate, pinnately decompound or helicoid, membranous to coriaceous, glabrous or hairy or (not in Australia) scaly, rarely glaucous or farinose abaxially. Rachis terete, sometimes flexuose, glabrous or with acicular or rarely glandular hairs or scales; primary rachis sometimes extended with proliferous apex. Pinnules stalked or occasionally sessile; stalks in some species articulated to the rachis or lamina; veins dichotomously forking, free or very rarely anastomosing without free included veinlets, ending near the margin in the soral flap on fertile lobes. Sori abaxial on distal margins, on reflexed soral flap (true indusium lacking), 1 or more per lobe or rarely uninterrupted along distal margin; soral flaps linear, lunate, round to reniform or oblong, usually with a sinus at the segment margin proper, glabrous or clothed with dark setae; setae or 2-celled glandular hairs scattered among the sporangia, or paraphyses lacking; margins devoid of sporangia and often membranous. Spores 32 or 64 per sporangium, tetrahedral to globose; perine present.
Plants terrestrial or epilithic, medium-sized or small; outlines highly variable. Rhizomes short and erect, or long and creeping, with siphonostele, covered with scales; scales brown or black, lanceolate, thick in texture, usually entire. Fronds monomorphic, whorled and clustered, scattered in 2 rows or compact, not articulate; stipe black or reddish brown, glossy, fine and rounded, hard, with 1 or 2 vascular bundles and combined into 1 upward; lamina mostly 1-3-or more pinnate or 1-3-dichotomous with pedate branches, rarely reduced to solitary entire and orbicular-flabellate pinnule, herbaceous or papery, less often leathery or membranous; rachises, costae, and stalks same color as stipe; pinnules sometimes with articulate stalk, ovate, flabellate, orbicular-flabellate, or dimidiate, margins serrate, lobed, or entire, usually deciduous when dried; veins free, reaching margins, simple or dichotomously forked, often radiate [rarely anastomosing (Hewardia)], usually visible on both surfaces of lamina. Sori borne on veins of recurved, membranous margins (false indusium); false indusium orbicular, reniform, lunate, ± rectangular, or oblong, free or continuous, upper margins forming deep sinus, retuse or truncate. Sporangia globose, long stalked, annuli erect; mostly consisting of 18-28 incrassate cells. Spores yellowish, tetrahedral, trilete, transparent, smooth. x = 15(30), 29.
Terrestrial ferns with erect to long-creeping scaly rhizomes. Stipes scaly at base only, often dark brown and polished. Fronds entire or 1-4-(6)-pinnate; ultimate segments stalked, usually ovate, flabellate, oblong, or parallelogrammoid; margins incised, lobed, or crenate; veins usually free. Sori borne on elongate, orbicular, reniform, or crescent-shaped, strongly recurved modified marginal lobes (usually called indusia). Spores trilete.
Sporangia borne on veins or extending to interspaces on inner face of reflex portions of lamina margin; pedicel slender, annulus incomplete, vertical. Spores tetrahedral to bilateral, smooth, us. dark. Rhizome far-creeping to short and ascending, with narrow dark paleae. Lamina pinnately decompound to simply pinnate, mostly firm. Some 200 terrestrial spp. of wide distribution.
Sori on surface of reflexed marginal flaps
