Pteris L.

Erect terrestrial ferns of small to large size. Rhizome shortly creeping and +/- solenostelic, to compact, erect and dictyostelic, bearing broad, thick, sometimes thin-margined and setose scales attached by a broad base, sometimes with hairs as well. Fronds long-stipitate, the stipes adaxially grooved, with a single U-shaped vascular strand, the adaxial arms of which are incurved then recurved, the lamina pinnatifid, simply pinnate to bipinnate, or sometimes tripinnate, sometimes pedate with the lateral pinnae as large as the remainder of the frond, and similarly basiscopically enlarged, the frond thus appearing tripartite, apical pinna mostly similar to the lateral pinnae, rachises and costae flattened or grooved, the grooves decurrnt and open to admit those of a higher order, the costal grooves with raised edges, often produced into teeth at the base of the costules (when present), the ultimate lobes entire or serrate, or incisocrenate, herbaceous to coriaceous, glabropus or rarely hairy, the veins simple or forked, free except in the sorus, or anastomosing to form a single series of areoles without free included veinlets along the costae and sometimes the costules, or more copiously anastomosing with or without free included veinlets, the free veins ending in large hydathodes. Sporangia borne in sub marginal coenosori, on an elongate, continuous or rarely interrupted fertile commissure along the margins of the ultimate lobes, not on the apices and generally not in the sinuses, protected by a scariose reflexed margin of the lamina (pseudoindusium), filiform paraphyses usually present, annulus longitudinal interrupted, of 16-34 thickened cells. Spores trilete, rarely monolete, smooth to rugose or papillose, pale to very dark.

Sect. Campteria: fronds bipinnatifid, pedate or not; ultimate pinnae conform; costae grooved above; veins free; sori continuous along margins of ultimate segments.

Sect. Litobrochia: fronds pinnatifid, pinnate to bipinnatifid, pedate or not; ultimate pinnae confirm; costae grooved above; veins anastomosing; sori continuous aong margins of ultimate segments

Sect. Hemipteris: fronds bipinnatifid, pedate; ultimate pinnae conform; costae grooved above; veins regularly anastomosing; sori interrupted, borne on the basiscopic margin of the teeth of the ultimate segments.

Sect. Syrracha: fronds deeply pinnatifid or subpinnate to bipinnatifid; the apical lobes gradually reduced; costae flattened above, veins free or anastomosing with or without included free, recurrent, simple or forked veins; sori continuous along the margins of the fronds.

Species in Papuasia