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Ferns and Gymnosperms
Polypodiaceae -- the polypody family (40-47/700; tropical and subtropical:
limited presence in temperate regions)
Plants homosporous
Habit herbs with creeping, scaly rhizomes, sometimes erect
Leaves simple and entire to pinnately lobed to compound arranged alternately;
monomorphic or dimorphic
Vernation circinate
Sporangia leptosporangia (very small stalked sporangia with annuli) organized into round
or oblong sori or distributed over the underside of leaf blade (abaxially)
Indusia absent
Spores uniform in size, small, golden in color when mature
Gametophytes bisexual, aboveground, thin, green, photosynthetic
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Pteridaceae --
the maidenhair family
(40/1000; cosmopolitan)
Plants homosporous
Habit herbs with creeping, pubescent and/or scaly rhizomes, sometimes erect
Leaves simple or 1-6 times compound arranged alternately; monomorphic or dimorphic
Vernation circinate
Sporangia leptosporangia (very small stalked sporangia with annuli) organized into sori
along veins, often near leaf margins, or scattered on underside of leaf blade
(abaxially)
Indusia absent, or when present, a false indusium formed by the recurved pinnule margin
Spores uniform in size, small; globose to globose-tetrahedral or trigonal
Gametophytes bisexual, aboveground, thin, green, photosynthetic
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Dryopteridaceae --
the wood fern family
(60/3000; cosmopolitan)
Plants homosporous
Habit herbs with erect or creeping scaly rhizomes
Leaves simple or 1-5 times pinnatelycompound; arranged alternately; monomorphic or
dimorphic; more or less scaly, at least at petiole base
Vernation circinate
Sporangia leptosporangia (very small stalked sporangia with annuli) organized into round to
oblong or linear sori away from leaf margins or continuous on underside of leaf blade
(abaxially)
Indusia present attached centrally relative to sorus or on 1 side of sorus
Spores uniform in size, small; oblong to reniform in shape
Gametophytes bisexual, aboveground, thin, green, photosynthetic
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Ophioglossaceae -- the grape-fern family (3-5/70-80; tropic and temperate)
Plants homosporous
Habit herbs with short erect, unbranched stems
Leaves solitary or alternate; sterile frond is simple to much dissected or compound and
fertile frond resembles a spike or panicle; dimorphic, but both fronds borne as a
pair, and are usually partially fused at the base into a solitary structure
Vernation not circinate
Sporangia eusporangia (large sporangia without an annulus) borne on fertile frond
Spores numerous, small, uniform in size
Gametophytes bisexual, fleshy, subterranean, mycotrophic
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Cycadaceae/Zamiaceae -- the cycad families (11/185; tropical and
subtropical)
Plants seed plants, dioecious
Habit shrubs or palm-like trees
Leaves tightly alternate forming a dense terminal rosette; pinnately compound; most with
circinate vernation
Pollen borne on strobili (look like cones) with many spirally arranged scales; 6-many pollen
sacs per scale (microsporophylls), on underside (abaxial)
Ovules borne on strobili (look like cones) with many spirally arranged peltate scales or
megasporophylls; in Cycadaceae: 2-8 ovules on margins of megasporophylls, in
Zamiaceae: 2 ovules underneath peltate-shaped megasporophyll
Seeds large, drupelike
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Pinaceae -- the pine family
(9-12/210; cosmopolitan)
Plants seed plants, monoecious
Habit shrubs or trees
Leaves alternate or closely fascicled on determinate or indeterminate short shoots; simple
and linear to needle-like
Pollen borne on strobili (look like cones) with many spirally arranged scales; 2 pollen sacs
per scale, on underside of scale (abaxial)
Ovules borne on cones (scale/bract complex) woody at maturity with many spirally arranged
scales, flattened and free from subtending bracts (more or less); 2 ovules per cone
scale, on top of scale (adaxial)
Seeds usually winged (rarely wingless)
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Cupressaceae --
the cypress family (includes Taxodiaceae)
(28/156; cosmopolitan)
Plants seed plants, monoecious or dioecious
Habit shrubs or trees
Leaves alternate, opposite, or whorled; simple and scale-like, awl-shaped or linear
Pollen borne on strobili (look like cones) with many scales; 2-9 pollen sacs per scale, on
underside of scale (abaxial)
Ovules borne on cones (scale/bract complex) usually woody at maturity (fleshy in
Juniperus) with several to many scales, flattened or often peltate; wholly adnate to
subtending bract; 2-many ovules per cone scale, on top of scale (adaxial)
Seeds small, wingless or narrowly winged
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Taxaceae --
the yew family
(5/17-20; widely distributed, mostly northern hemisphere)
Plants seed plants, dioecious (rarely monoecious)
Habit shrubs or trees
Leaves alternate; simple and linear or needle-like, decurrent on twigs
Pollen borne on strobili (look like cones) with several flattened sterile basal scales and 4-32
spirally arranged or whorled, peltate or ± flattened structures called sporangiophores
that each bear 2-9 pollen sacs
Ovules solitary or in pairs, borne on reduced cones (one scale) terminal on short shoots
Seeds solitary, surrounded by a green or red fleshy aril
Ferns and Gymnosperms
Taxaceae --
comments
Comments: interesting coniferous family: you commonly see
Taxus cultivated around Cornell campus. Which is more
commonly planted, female plants or male plants? Taxus
brevifolia (from the Pacific Northwest) is the source of Taxol, a
treatment for breast cancer.
The aril is bright red in Taxus and green in Torreya, which is
named after the famous American botanist John Torrey (17961873).