"The Cyatheaceae are a family of tree ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification ...
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of 2016 (PPG I). Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly (Cyatheaceae sensu lato) as the only family in the Cyatheales, with the PPG I family treated as the subfamily Cyatheoideae. The narrower circumscription is used in this article.
The family includes the world´s tallest tree ferns, which reach heights up to 20 m. They are also very ancient plants, appearing in the fossil record in the late Jurassic, though the modern genera likely appeared in the Cenozoic. Cyatheaceae are the largest family of tree ferns, including about 640 species. Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae, together with Metaxyaceae and Cibotiaceae, are a monophyletic group and constitute the "core tree ferns". Cyatheaceae are leptosporangiate ferns, the most familiar group of monilophytes." - (en.wikipedia.org 25.09.2020)
