Phlebodium is a small genus of two to four species of fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

s, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

. The genus is closely related to Polypodium

Polypodium

Polypodium is a genus of 75–100 species of true ferns, widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest species diversity in the tropics. The name is derived from Ancient Greek poly "many" + podion "little foot", on account of the foot-like appearance of the rhizome and its branches...

, and the species were formerly included in that genus.

They are epiphytic

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

 ferns, with a creeping, densely hairy or scaly rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

 bearing frond

Frond

The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...

s at intervals along its length. The fronds are evergreen, persisting for 1–2 years, and are pinnatifid. The sori

Sorus

A sorus is a cluster of sporangia .In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....

 or groups of spore-cases (sporangia) are borne on the back of the frond.

Species

• Phlebodium araneosum (M.Martens & Galeotti) Mickel & Beitel
• Phlebodium aureum
  Phlebodium aureum
  Phlebodium aureum is an epiphytic fern native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas...
  
  (L.) J.Sm.
• Phlebodium decumanum (Willd.) J.Sm.
• Phlebodium pseudoaureum (Cav.) Lellinger

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