the shield fern family, containing 40–50 genera and about 1,700 species, in the division Pteridophyta (the lower vascular plants (plant)). Dryopteridaceae are distributed nearly worldwide but are most diverse in temperate regions and in mountainous areas in the tropics. Most species are terrestrial or grow on rocks, although Polybotrya (about 35 species) and a few other genera have stems rooted in the ground but modified to climb up trees. Leaf morphology is extremely variable, but most commonly the sori (fern) are round and covered with a membranous protective flap of tissue (indusium (fern)). The spores are mostly bean-shaped (bilateral).