Welcome to Davalliaceae - A family of Old World (sub-)tropical ferns

Davalliaceae is the name of a family of largely epiphytic ferns, occurring in tropical or warm-temperate regions of Africa and Asia, with some species reaching distant Pacific Island groups (Distribution). In the present revised form the family comprises 43 species, with another 5 taxa of varietal rank.
The leaves are simple to finely divided, monomorphous or with distinct fertile and sterile leaves. The sporangia are clustered into sori on the lower surface of the leaves and, with a single exception, are covered by a scale-like to pouch-shaped indusium.
The creeping rhizomes, (often) with a dense cover of scales, are very reminiscent of animals’ feet resulting in common names like rabbit’s foot, squirrel’ s foot (D. trichomanoides Rhizome1), and deer’s foot. These species also make popular houseplants, sometimes with a variety of cultivars on offer from specialized nursaries.

Title: Davalliaceae - A family of Old World (sub-)tropical ferns
Author: Hans P. Nooteboom
Year of publication: 2000
ISBN: 3-540-14704-7