Beech ferns

Description

Phegopteris is a genus of ferns in the family Thelypteridaceae, subfamily Phegopteridoideae, in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). They are known collectively as the beech ferns. Species are native to Asia, North America and Europe. Phegopteris was first described in 1852 by Carl Borivoj Presl as an unranked taxon within the genus Polypodium. It was raised to the rank of genus by Antoine Fée in the same year. The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I) recognizes three genera in the subfamily Phegopteridoideae: Macrothelypteris, Phegopteris and Pseudophegopteris. As of January 2020, both the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World and Plants of the World Online regarded Pseudophegopteris as a synonym of Phegopteris.