''Angiopteris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of huge

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

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 exce ...

s from the family

Marattiaceae Marattiaceae is the only family of extant (living) ferns in the order Marattiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), Marattiales is the only order in the subclass Marattiidae. The family has six genera and about ...

, found throughout the

paleotropics The Paleotropical Kingdom (Paleotropis) is a floristic kingdom comprising tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), as proposed by Ronald Good and Armen Takhtajan. Part of its flora, inherited from the anc ...

from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

to the

South Pacific islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. Species of smaller stature with elongate

synangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

and creeping rhizomes are sometimes segregated into the genus '' Archangiopteris'', and a once-pinnate monotypic segregate genus has been called ''

Macroglossum ''Macroglossum'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae. The genus was erected by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1777. Species *'' Macroglossum adustum'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1916 *'' Macroglossum aesalon'' Mabille, 1879 *'' Macroglossum af ...

'', but molecular data supports inclusion of these taxa within a broad concept of ''Angiopteris''. ''

Angiopteris evecta ''Angiopteris evecta'', commonly known as the king fern, giant fern, elephant fern, oriental vessel fern, Madagascar tree fern, or mule's Foot fern, is a very large rainforest fern in the family Marattiaceae native to most parts of Southeast Asi ...

'' has been introduced and naturalized in Hawaii, Jamaica, and parts of Central America, where it has become an invasive weed in lower elevation drainages. They feature a large, erect, woody rhizome with a wide base supported by thick roots. The fronds are deltoid, pinnate, long, with spreading leaflets.Ellison, Don (1999) Cultivated Plants of the World. London: New Holland (1st ed.: Brisbane: Flora Publications International, 1995) ''Angiopteris'' is unique among ferns in having explosively dispersed spores, thought to be caused by the cavitation of an airspace between spore layers. The basal

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

number for this genus is ''2n=80''. The type species is ''

''.

Species

''Angiopteris'' taxonomy is poorly understood, with nearly 200 poorly defined species having been named, only a small handful of which are recognized in modern floras. , World Ferns recognized the following species: *'' Angiopteris angustifolia'' C.Presl *'' Angiopteris annamensis'' C.Chr. & Tardieu *'' Angiopteris bipinnata'' (Ching) J.M.Camus *'' Angiopteris brooksii'' Copel. *'' Angiopteris cadierei'' (C.Chr. & Tardieu) Govaerts & Christenh. *'' Angiopteris cartilagidens'' Christ *'' Angiopteris caudatiformis'' Hieron. *'' Angiopteris chingii'' J.M.Camus *'' Angiopteris chongsengiana'' Senterre & I.Fabre *'' Angiopteris cochinchinensis'' de Vriese *'' Angiopteris confertinervia'' Ching ex C.Chr. & Tardieu *'' Angiopteris crassipes'' Wall. *'' Angiopteris danaeoides'' Z.R.He & Christenh. *'' Angiopteris dianyuecola'' Z.R.He & W.M.Chu *'' Angiopteris elliptica'' Alderw. *''

'' (G.Forst.) Hoffm. *'' Angiopteris ferox'' Copel. *'' Angiopteris fokiensis'' Hieron. *'' Angiopteris helferiana'' C.Presl *'' Angiopteris hokouensis'' Ching *'' Angiopteris holttumii'' C.Chr. *'' Angiopteris itoi'' (W.C.Shieh) J.M.Camus *'' Angiopteris javanica'' C.Presl *'' Angiopteris latipinna'' (Ching) Z.R.He, W.M.Chu & Christenh. *'' Angiopteris lygodiifolia'' Rosenst. *'' Angiopteris madagascariensis'' de Vriese *'' Angiopteris marchionica'' E.D.Br. *'' Angiopteris microura'' Copel. *'' Angiopteris oblanceolata'' Ching & Chu H.Wang *'' Angiopteris opaca'' Copel. *'' Angiopteris paucinervis'' W.M.Chu & Z.R.He *'' Angiopteris pruinosa'' Kunze *'' Angiopteris rapensis'' E.D.Br. *'' Angiopteris remota'' Ching & Chu H.Wang *'' Angiopteris smithii'' Racib. *'' Angiopteris somae'' (Hayata) Makino & Nemoto *'' Angiopteris sparsisora'' Ching *'' Angiopteris subcuspidata'' Rosenst. *'' Angiopteris subrotundata'' (Ching) Z.R.He & Christenh. *'' Angiopteris sugongii'' Gui L.Zhang, J.Y.Xiang & Ting Wang *'' Angiopteris tamdaoensis'' (Hayata) J.Y.Xiang & T.Wang *'' Angiopteris tonkinensis'' (Hayata) J.M.Camus *'' Angiopteris undulatostriata'' Hieron. *'' Angiopteris versteegii'' Alderw. *'' Angiopteris wangii'' Ching *'' Angiopteris winkleri'' Rosenst. *'' Angiopteris yunnanensis'' Hieron.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4763285 Marattiidae Fern genera