Polypodiaceae -- the polypody family (40-47/700; tropical and subtropical: limited presence in temperate regions)
Plants homosporous
Habit herbs with creeping, scaly rhizomes, sometimes erect
Leaves simple and entire to pinnately lobed to compound arranged alternately; monomorphic or dimorphic
Vernation circinate
Sporangia leptosporangia (very small stalked sporangia with annuli) organized into round or oblong sori or distributed over the underside of leaf blade (abaxially)
Indusia absent
Spores uniform in size, small, golden in color when mature
Gametophytes bisexual, aboveground, thin, green, photosynthetic