The World Flora Online

Plants perennials, terrestrial or epiphytic. Roots lacking root hairs, unbranched or with a few narrow lateral branches, in 1 species dichotomously branched. Stems simple, unbranched, upright, with eustelic vascular tissue. Leaf bases dilated, clasping, forming sheath, open or fused, surrounding successive leaf primordia; primordia glabrous or with long, uniseriate hairs. Leaves 1(--2) per stem, with common stalk divided into sterile, laminate, photosynthetic portion (trophophore) and fertile, spore-bearing portion (sporophore). Trophophore blades compound to simple, rarely absent, veins anastomosing or free, pinnate, or arranged like ribs of fan. Indument absent or of widely scattered, long, uniseriate hairs, especially on petioles and rachises. Sporophores pinnately branched or simple. Sporangia exposed or embedded, 0.5--1.5 mm diam., thick-walled, with thousands of spores. Spores all 1 kind, trilete, thick-walled, surface rugate, tuberculate, baculate (with projecting rods usually higher than wide), sometimes joined in delicate network, mostly with ± warty surface. Gametophytes not green, usually fleshy, round or linear, subterranean, mycorrhizal.

Plantes herbacées, à rhizome dressé, portant un faisceau de racines fibreuses et une ou plusieurs feuilles. Feuilles dressées ou pendantes, généralement divisées en un segment foliacé stérile et un segment fertile non foliacé . Segment fertile en épi , simple ou paniculé, formé de sporanges à paroi multicellulaire, sans anneau, s'ouvrant en deux valves. Prothalle souterrain, sans chlorophylle, portant des mycorrhizes.

Terrestrial, rarely epiphytic (none in W.Africa) herbs Leaves few or solitary, simple (Ophioglossum) or decompound (Botrychium) with a sterile foliaceous segment and fertile non–foliaceous dorsal segment, arising from a common stipe; fertile segments simple, linear (Ophioglossum), or compound Leaves few or solitary, simple (Ophioglossum) or decompound (Botrychium) with a sterile foliaceous segment and fertile non–foliaceous dorsal segment, arising from a common stipe; fertile segments simple, linear (Ophioglossum), or compound

Terrestrial or epiphytic herbs with globose, subglobose or elongated rhizomes

Rhizome globose to elongate; roots lacking root hairs, mycorrhizal Leaves few to solitary, simple or divided, sterile segments foliaceous, fertile segments terminal, spike-like, petiolate, simple or compound; both sterile and fertile segments arising from a common stipe, glabrous or hairy Herbs, mainly terrestrial but some epiphytic, usually small and fleshy Leaves few to solitary, simple or divided, sterile segments foliaceous, fertile segments terminal, spike-like, petiolate, simple or compound; both sterile and fertile segments arising from a common stipe, glabrous or hairy Herbs, mainly terrestrial but some epiphytic, usually small and fleshy

Plants perennial, mostly terrestrial, rarely epiphytic, usually small and fleshy, lacking sclerenchyma. Roots lacking root hairs, unbranched or with a few narrow lateral branches [rarely dichotomously branched], fibrous or fleshy, sometimes producing vegetative buds. Rhizome mostly erect, less often horizontal, rarely branched, eustelic, glabrous or hairy. Fronds 1 to few per plant, monomorphic, vernation nodding (not circinate), erect or folded, stipe base dilated, clasping, forming open or fused sheath surrounding successive leaf buds; buds glabrous or with long, uniseriate hairs; common stipe usually dividing into sterile, laminate, photosynthetic portion (trophophore) and fertile, spore-bearing portion (sporophore); sterile lamina ternately or pinnately compound to simple, rarely absent, glabrous or with scattered, long, uniseriate hairs, especially on stipe and rachis; veins anastomosing or free, pinnate, or palmate. Sporophores 1 per frond [rarely more], spikelike or pinnately branched; sporangia exposed or embedded, sometimes clustered on very short lateral branches, wall 2 cells thick, annulus absent; spores many (> 1000) per sporangium, globose-tetrahedral, trilete, thick-walled, surface rugate, tuberculate, baculate (with projecting rods usually higher than wide), sometimes joined in delicate network, mostly with ± warty surface. Gametophytes subterranean, usually fleshy, mycorrhizal, non-photosynthetic, orbicular or linear. x = 30, (44), 45, (46), 94.