Marattiaceae

Massive, often multiply-divided fronds arising from a large, fleshy, starch-storing rhizome, with a pair of swollen stipules at the base of each leaf stalk; spore-bearing structures fuse into small compact clusters unlike the loose sori of most other ferns.

As true ferns this family has no flowers or seeds — one of the most ancient surviving fern lineages, its fossil relatives towered as forest trees hundreds of millions of years before flowering plants existed.

To check whether a plant belongs to Marattiaceae, 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.