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Plants perennial, mostly terrestrial, rarely epiphytic, generally in mesic, forested habitats. Stems short-to long-creeping, solenostelic [protostelic], bearing hairs (or less often scales), often branching by means of buds on proximal part of petiole. Leaves monomorphic, circinate in bud. Petiole not articulate, with 1--many vascular bundles, hairy or glabrous [scaly]. Blade 1-pinnate to decompound (rarely simple), glabrous or hairy or with mixture of hairs and glands; rachis and costae grooved adaxially [not grooved in some genera]. Veins free or sometimes joined at margin in fertile segments, pinnate or forking in ultimate segments. Sori near or at blade margin on vein tips or submarginal commissural vein; true (inner) indusia present, free or fused with portion of blade margin to form cup or pouch, or obscured by revolute and usually modified portion of blade margin [indusia rarely absent]; sporangial stalk of 1--3 rows of cells. Spores not green, tetrahedral or bilateral, monolete or trilete. Gametophytes green, cordate, with archegonia and antheridia borne on lower surface.
Rhizomes short-to long-creeping, siphonostelic, hairy or rarely with scale-like appendages (in Histiopteris ). Fronds monomorphic, 1-pinnate (not in Australia) to 5-pinnate, hairy or glabrous, lacking scales. Sori ± round or elongate, marginal or submarginal on the abaxial surface of fronds, positioned at or near vein endings, or on marginal connecting veins. Indusium half-cup-or cup-shaped (Dennstaedtia , Microlepia ), formed from the modified recurved lamina margin (Pteridium , Histiopteris , Hypolepis ), sometimes with a true inner indusium, or absent (Hypolepis ). Annulus vertical or slightly oblique. Homosporous; spores lacking chlorophyll.
Rhizomes creeping, hairy, vascular system solenostelic or in Pteridium a complex double solenostele; stipes with convoluted undivided vascular strands, which are sometimes U–shaped or with a system of several bundles in a horseshoe arrangement
