The order Polypodiales encompasses the major lineages of polypod ferns, which comprise more than 80% of today's fern species. This plant is often found growing on walls and tree trunks where it can catch more light. They are found in many parts of the world including tropical, semitropical and temperate areas.
Polypodiales may be regarded as one of the most evolutionarily advanced orders of ferns, based on recent genetic analysis. The polypodioid ferns apparently derived from the ancestors of the dryopteroid ferns, through the ancestors of the davallioid ferns. They arose and diversified a mere 100 million years ago, probably subsequent to the diversification of the angiosperms.
There are 11 families of Polypodiales:
Aspleniaceae -- the Spleenwort family. The most common and the largest families in the order Polypodiales (in other classification systems, one of five families of the order Aspidiales). Of worldwide distribution, the group contains some 60 to 80 genera and approximately 3,000 species. It is sometimes separated into three subfamilies -— Dryopteridoideae, Blechnoideae, and Aspleniodeae.
Blechnaceae -- Chain Fern family
Davalliaceae
Dryopteridaceae -- the Wood Fern family (polyphyletic family)
Grammitidaceae -- the Kihi Fern family
Lomariopsidaceae
Nephrolepidaceae
Olandraceae
Pleursoriopsidaceae
Polypodiaceae – the Polypody family. This family contains 30 to 50 genera (depending on the authority consulted) and more than 1,000 species of diverse and widely distributed medium-sized and small ferns. Some earlier classification systems have recognized as many as 170 genera and 7,000 species in the family, most of which are now placed in other families. For an example, see Resurrection fern, Polypodium polypodioides.
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