Osmundaceae
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Royal Fern family🌿
Osmundaceae
ゼンマイ科
A small family including Osmunda (royal ferns) and related genera. One of the most ancient fern lineages, with a fossil record dating back to the Triassic. Distinguished by the separation of sterile (vegetative) and fertile (spore-bearing) fronds.
Key Characteristics
- ●Sterile (vegetative) and fertile (sporangium-bearing) fronds are separate
- ●Large, pinnately compound fronds
- ●Young fronds unfurl from coiled fiddleheads
- ●Rhizome thick and erect
Phylogenetic Position
Vascular plants > Ferns > Osmundales > Osmundaceae
Divergence Era
Triassic (approx. 250 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
ゼンマイ属（Osmunda）
Related Evolution Events
- ・A 'living fossil' lineage among ferns