''Athyrium'' (lady-fern) is a genus of about 180 species of terrestrial

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s, with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

. It is placed in the family

Athyriaceae The Athyriaceae (ladyferns and allies) are a family of terrestrial ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae, and includes two gene ...

, in the order Polypodiales. Its genus name is from Greek '' a-'' ('without') and Latinized Greek '' thyreos'' ('shield'), describing its inconspicuous

indusium A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This New Latin word is from Ancient ...

(sorus' covering). The common name "lady fern" refers in particular to the common lady fern, '' Athyrium filix-femina''.Entry "lady fern", ''New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd edition'' (2010) by Oxford University Press, Inc. ''Athyrium'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including the small angle shades and '' Sthenopis auratus''.

Species

There are about 180, including:

References

External links

Flora of ChinaFlora EuropaeaFlora of North America
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7237437 Athyriaceae Fern genera