Pleopeltis is a genus of between 20–50 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, widely distributed in tropical regions of the world, and also north into temperate regions in eastern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and eastern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

.

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 many of the species have been or sometimes are still included in that genus; further changes in the circumscription of the genus are expected as research continues.

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...

, epipetric (growing on rocks), or rarely terrestrial

Terrestrial plant

A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. Other types of plants are aquatic , epiphytic , lithophytes and aerial ....

 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 entire or deeply 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.

Selected species

• Pleopeltis angusta Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.
• Pleopeltis astrolepis (Liebm.) E.Fourn.
• Pleopeltis bampsii Pichi-Serm.
• Pleopeltis complanata (Weath.) E.A.Hooper
• Pleopeltis conzattii (Weath.) R. M. Tryon & A.F.Tryon
• Pleopeltis crassinervata (Fée) T. Moore
• Pleopeltis fallax (Schltdl. & Cham.) Mickel & Beitel
• Pleopeltis fossa Moore
• Pleopeltis fructuosa (Maxon & Weath. ex Weath.) Lellinger
• Pleopeltis fuscopunctata (Hook.) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon
• Pleopeltis guttata (Maxon) E.G.Andrews & Windham
• Pleopeltis kolesnikovii Tzvelev
• Pleopeltis macrocarpa (Bory ex Willd.) Kaulf.
• Pleopeltis nicklesii (Tardieu) Alston
• Pleopeltis panamensis (Weath.) Pichi-Serm.
• Pleopeltis percussa (Cav.) Hook. & Grev.
• Pleopeltis pleolepis (Maxon & Copel.) Lellinger
• Pleopeltis pleopeltifolia (Raddi) Alston
• Pleopeltis polylepis (Roem. ex Kunze) T.Moore
• Pleopeltis polypodioides (L.) E.G.Andrews & Windham
• Pleopeltis repanda A.R.Sm.
• Pleopeltis riograndensis (T.Wendt) E.G.Andrews & Windham
• Pleopeltis squalida (Vell.) de la Sota
• Pleopeltis stigmatica Presl
• Pleopeltis thunbergiana Kaulf.
• Pleopeltis thyssanolepis (A.Braun ex Klotzsch) E.G.Andrews & Windham
• Pleopeltis tridens J.Sm.
• Pleopeltis ussuriensis Regel & Maack

Sources: