Acropteris Link; Amesium Newman; Asplenidictyum J. Smith; Asplenium sect. Ceterachopsis J. Smith; A. subg. Thamnopteris C. Presl; Camptosorus Link; Ceterach Willdenow, nom. cons.; Ceterachopsis (J. Smith) Ching; Darea Jussieu; Neottopteris J. Smith; Phyllitis Hill; Schaffneria Fée ex T. Moore; Scolopendrium Adanson; Sinephropteris Mickel; Tarachia C. Presl; Thamnopteris (C. Presl) C. Presl (1851), not Brongniart (1849) [fossil].

Plants epilithic, epiphytic, or terrestrial. Rhizome rarely dorsiventral, creeping, decumbent, or erect, with clathrate scales. Fronds herbaceous to leathery, sometimes subfleshy, remote or (more often) clustered; stipe dull, green to castaneous or black and then often shiny, base terete or semiterete, often becoming sulcate adaxially, rounded to carinate abaxially; lamina simple to 4-pinnate; rachis sulcate adaxially often with raised central supravascular ridge; margin of pinnae or pinnules often decurrent and forming adaxial wings along rachis or costa; acroscopic side of pinnae, pinnules, and ultimate segments often more developed and these then asymmetrical, pseudodimidiate to dimidiate; margin entire to coarsely serrate, each tooth usually with one veinlet, obtuse, mucronate to acute. Veins free, rarely anastomosing, anadromously branching, rarely with a single vein per pinnule or segment, not reaching margin. Sori linear to subelliptic, rarely double, indusiate; indusia thinly membranous to papery, free margin entire to erose, sinuate or fimbriate, rarely with uniseriate glandular hairs; stalks of sporangia long uniseriate, annuli with 20-28 thickened cells. Spores bilateral, elliptic to reniform, monolete, exospore smooth, perispores elaborate and very variable; in sexual plants 64 spores per sporangium. Plants sexual or agamosporous, x = 35, 36.

Six uncertain taxa, not included in the following key, are listed at the end of the account.

Uncertain taxa

Asplenium fangii Ching (Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol., n.s., 1: 276. 1949), described from Sichuan. The type in PE(!) represents a species of Diplazium s.l. Asplenium pekinense Hance var. nanum Christ (Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital., n.s., 17(2): 225. 1910), described from Hubei. Type (Silvestri 7, FI) not seen, probably a dwarf form of A. pekinense. Asplenium pseudofalcatum Hillebrand f. obtusatum Rosenstock (Hedwigia 56: 334. 1915), described from Taiwan. Type (Faurie 455bis) not seen, probably a form of A. cuneatiforme. Asplenium pseudofalcatum Hillebrand var. subintegrum Rosenstock (Hedwigia 56: 334. 1915), described from Taiwan. The isotype in MICH (photo!) is probably A. cuneatiforme but is close to A. lobulatum Mettenius ex Kuhn. The relationship of these taxa needs more study. Asplenium wilfordii Mettenius ex Kuhn var. densum Rosenstock (Hedwigia 56: 334. 1915), described from Taiwan. The isotype in NY resembles A. austrochinense, but this taxon should be confirmed for Taiwan. Neottopteris longistipitata R. H. Miao (Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. 1: 99. 1980), described from Hainan.

More than 700 species: subcosmopolitan; 90 species (17 endemic) in China.