Plants terrestrial, often forming thickets. Rhizomes long creeping, protostelic, with scales or multicellular hairs. Fronds monomorphic, evergreen, erect, scrambling, or climbing, vernation circinate; stipe not articulate, distant, cylindrical, apex forked, with dormant bud; apical bud covered with hairs or scales; rachis simple to several times pseudodichotomously branched [or pinnate], with stellate hairs and/or ciliate scales when young, these persistent or glabrescent; pinnules pectinately pinnatisect; lobes elliptic or lanceolate, apex obtuse or acute; veins free, forked; lamina papery or subleathery, frequently glaucous abaxially. Sori in 1(-3) lines on both sides of lobe costules, orbicular, exindusiate; sporangia 2-10[-16], sessile, turbinate, with a mid-transverse annulus; spores tetrahedral or reniform, without perispore, smooth.

Most species in the Gleicheniaceae are characteristic of very mineral-poor soils.

Ching Ren-chang, Fu Shu-hsia, Wang Chu-hao & Shing Gung-hsia. 1959. Gleicheniaceae. In: Ching Ren-chang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 2: 116-132, 346-350.

Three to five genera depending on concepts of authors and over 150 species: tropical and subtropical areas; three genera and 15 species (six endemic) in China.

(Authors: Jin Xiaofeng (金孝锋), Ding Bingyang (丁炳扬); Kunio Iwatsuki)