Tags: Fern.
The Osmundaceae (Royal Fern Family) is a family of four genera and 15-25 species. It is the only fern family of the order Osmundales an order in the class Polypodiopsida (Filicopsida Pteridopsida or Leptosporangiate ferns) or in some classifications the only order in the class Osmundopsida. This is an ancient (known from the Upper Permian) and fairly isolated group that is often known as the flowering ferns because of the striking aspect of the ripe sporangia in Osmunda and Osmundastrum.
