Plants small to large, evergreen or deciduous, terrestrial, epilithic, hemiepiphytic, or epiphytic. Rhizomes erect, ascending, creeping, or sometimes climbing, dictyostelic (mostly radially), scaly; scales basally attached or very rarely peltate, often non-clathrate but sometimes clathrate, entire or dentate. Fronds caespitose or remote from one another, with segments anadromously or catadromously arranged, or sometimes anadromous at base and catadromous distally; stipe often not articulate but sometimes articulate at base, with 3 or more vascular bundles arranged in a semicircle or circle, scaly, sulcate adaxially, not hairy or sometimes hairy; lamina monomorphic or dimorphic, usually oblong, deltoid, pentagonal, lanceolate, ovate, or linear, 1-5-pinnate, or simple, rarely imparipinnate, scaly, glandular, hairy, or glabrous; if scaly then scales bullate or flat; glands absent or present; texture thinly papery, papery, or leathery. Rachises sulcate adaxially, with or without proliferous bulbils, rarely proliferous bulbils borne at a prolonged flagelliform rachis terminal; venation pinnate and free, or variously anastomosing to form 1 to multiple rows of areoles, with or without included veinlets. Fertile fronds conform or weakly to strongly difform with sterile fronds. Sporangia usually in orbicular sori; sori terminal, subterminal, or dorsal on veins, indusiate or rarely exindusiate; if indusiate then indusia orbicular or reniform or rarely ovoid, superior, lateral, or rarely inferior, sessile or rarely stalked, entire or toothed; sometimes sporangia nearly evenly covering fertile parts abaxially (not forming orbicular sori); sporangia with 3-rowed, short to long stalks. Spores monolete, achlorophyllous, with prominent perispore. x = 41.

Eighty percent of the 2,100 species are in four genera (Ctenitis, Dryopteris, Elaphoglossum, and Polystichum). Subfamily Dryopteridoideae includes 17 genera: Adenoderris J. Smith, Arachniodes (incl. Leptorumohra, Lithostegia, Phanerophlebiopsis), Coveniella Tindale, Ctenitis (incl. Ataxipteris), Cyclodium C. Presl, Cyrtomium, Dryopolystichum Copeland, Dryopteris (incl. Acrophorus, Acrorumohra, Dryopsis, Nothoperanema, Peranema, Revwattsia D. L. Jones), Lastreopsis, Maxonia C. Christensen, Megalastrum Holttum, Phanerophlebia C. Presl, Polystichopsis (J. Smith) Holttum, Polystichum (incl. Cyrtogonellum, Cyrtomidictyum, Papuapteris Christensen, Plecosorus, Sorolepidium), Rumohra Raddi, Stenolepia Alderwerelt, and Stigmatopteris C. Christensen. Subfamily Elaphoglossoideae includes eight genera: Arthrobotrya C. Christensen, Bolbitis (incl. Egenolfia), Elaphoglossum (incl. Microstaphyla C. Presl, Peltapteris Link), Lomagramma, Mickelia R. C. Moran, Labiak & Sundue, Olfersia Raddi, Polybotrya Humbolt & Bonpland ex Willdenow, and Teratophyllum. These genera are placed in Dryopteridaceae on the basis of morphology and, for most, molecular studies as well.

Wang Chuhao. 1999. Ctenitis, Lastreopsis, Bolbitidaceae, and Lomagramma. In: Wu Shiewhung, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 6(1): 2-37, 56-59, 104-124, 129-133; Wu Shiew-hung. 1999. Peranemataceae ["Peranemaceae"]. In: Wu Shiew-hung, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 4(2): 216-238; Wu Shiewhung. 1999. Elaphoglossaceae. In: Wu Shiewhung, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 6(1): 134-142; Hsieh Yingtang, Wu Sugong & Lu Shugang. 2000. Dryopteridaceae (1). In: Wu Sugong, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 5(1): 1-220; Kung Hsianshiu, Chu Weiming, He Zhaorong, Zhang Libing & Hsieh Yingtang. 2001. Dryopteridaceae (2) (excluding Cyclopeltis). In: Kung Hsianshiu, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 5(2): 1-228.

About 25 genera and 2,100 species: nearly cosmopolitan, but highest diversity found in E Asia (Dryopteris, Polystichum) and the New World (Ctenitis, Elaphoglossum); ten genera and 493 species (260 endemic) in two subfamilies in China.

(Authors: Zhang Libing (张丽兵), Wu Sugong (武素功), Xiang Jianying (向建英), Xing Fuwu (邢福武), He Hai (何海), Wang Faguo (王发国), Lu Shugang (陆树刚), Dong Shiyong (董仕勇); David S. Barrington, Kunio Iwatsuki, Maarten J. M. Christenhusz, John T. Mickel, Masahiro Kato, Michael G. Gilbert)