Amphineuron Holttum; Christella H. Léveillé; Pneumatopteris Nakai; Sphaerostephanos J. Smith.

Plants usually medium-sized, terrestrial. Rhizomes creeping to erect, scaly (sometimes also hairy). Fronds distant to clustered; laminae usually oblong-lanceolate, narrowed or not to bases, pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid; middle pinnae usually linear-lanceolate, subentire to deeply lobed, sometimes with swollen aerophores at bases abaxially; apical pinnae usually more lobed; proximal pinnae sometimes shortened; segments entire or rarely crenate; veinlets simple or rarely forked, proximal one or more pairs on adjacent segments anastomosing with an excurrent veinlet from uniting point to sinus membrane, other veinlets to sinus membrane or margin above sinus. Laminae herbaceous to papery, both surfaces usually hairy along costae and veins, abaxial surface sometimes glandular. Sori orbicular, usually at middle of veinlets; indusia orbicular-reniform, membranous, glabrous or hairy, sometimes glandular, persistent. Sporangia usually bearing hairs or glands. Spores oblong-reniform, cristate, with wings or echinate. x = 36.

"Christella sadlerioidea" (H. Léveillé, Fl. Kouy-Tchéou, 475. 1915) is a nomen nudum and was not therefore validly published (Melbourne Code, Art. 38.1(a)). Léveillé recorded C. urophylla (Mettenius) H. Léveillé (Fl. Kouy-Tchéou, 476. 1915; Phegopteris urophylla Mettenius, Abh. Senckenberg. Naturf. Ges. 2: 310. 1858; Aspidium urophyllum (Mettenius) Christ; Dryopteris urophylla (Mettenius) C. Christensen; Goniopteris urophylla (Mettenius) Beddome; Nephrodium urophyllum (Mettenius) Beddome; Polypodium urophyllum (Mettenius) Wallich ex Hooker; Thelypteris urophylla (Mettenius) K. Iwatsuki) from Guizhou, but there is no other record of this Malaysian species from China.

The following taxa are excluded from the present treatment, pending further research: Cyclosorus lunganensis Ching (Wuyi Sci. J. 1: 5. 1981), described from Fujian, C. oppositipinnus Ching & Z. Y. Liu (Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 4(3): 15. 1984), described from Sichuan, and C. subdentatus Ching (Wuyi Sci. J. 1: 4. 1981), described from Fujian.

About 250 species: distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, most in Asia; several species also in the New World; 40 species (ten endemic) in China.

(Authors: Lin Youxing (林尤兴), Li Zhongyang (李中阳); Kunio Iwatsuki)