Dryopteridaceae
Wood Fern Family
The Dryopteridaceae family (Wood Fern Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Polypodiales. In the SASYA catalogue it spans 4 species. Its members are predominantly herbs.
Browse all 4 species ↓
Finely divided, feathery fronds unfurling from tightly coiled fiddleheads, growing in a tuft or crown from a stout, scaly rhizome; spores form in rounded clusters (sori) on the frond underside, each typically covered by a small kidney-shaped flap (indusium).
As true ferns this family has no flowers or seeds — look instead at frond division, rhizome scale texture, and whether each sorus is covered by a distinctive kidney-shaped indusium.
Which Dryopteridaceae species is this?
Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Dryopteridaceae species.
To check whether a plant belongs to Dryopteridaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.
Learn the full family-identification methodFamilies that can look similar
Pteridaceae
Compare against Pteridaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare PteridaceaePolypodiaceae
Compare against Polypodiaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare PolypodiaceaeThelypteridaceae
Compare against Thelypteridaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare ThelypteridaceaeAspleniaceae
Compare against Aspleniaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare AspleniaceaeAll 4 species in DRYOPTERIDACEAE
Identify any Dryopteridaceae plant in seconds
Point your camera and SASYA names the species on-device — offline and private.
Download SASYA — Free