Blechnaceae

views updated

Blechnaceae A family of terrestrial ferns with scaly rhizomes, to which the fronds are not jointed. The sori are short, or joined together in a continuous line, on a vein parallel to the midrib of the pinna. The indusium is outside the sorus, attached to the leaf surface or margin. Spore-bearing fronds are often distinct from the vegetable ones. There are 10 genera, of cosmopolitan distribution, containing more than 260 species, of which 220 are in the genus Blechnum.

More From encyclopedia.com