Ophioglossidae

Ophioglossidae is a subclass of ferns comprising the order Ophioglossales. Its living members include adder’s-tongues, grapeferns, and moonworts.

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Ophioglossales: An order of ferns containing the living families Ophioglossaceae and Botrychiaceae. This order is the sole living order included in Ophioglossidae.
Fern life cycle: A reproductive cycle alternating between a spore-producing sporophyte and a gamete-producing gametophyte. Ophioglossidae follows this cycle, though its gametophytes are unusually subterranean.
Ophioglossum: A genus of ferns known as adder’s-tongues, with simple sterile blades and a separate fertile spike. Adder’s-tongues exemplify the simple fronds and fertile spikes found in the group.
Marattiales: An order of ferns that includes large tropical species with thick rhizomes and massive, often compound fronds. Marattiales is another early-diverging fern lineage, but its plants differ markedly in form.
Fern: A vascular plant that reproduces by spores rather than seeds and has a life cycle with distinct gametophyte and sporophyte stages. Ophioglossidae belongs to the broader group of ferns.
Gametophyte: The haploid stage of a plant life cycle that produces gametes. Ophioglossidae gametophytes develop underground and often depend on fungi.
Botrychium: A genus of ferns commonly called grapeferns, with divided leaves and clustered sporangia. Grapeferns display the divided fronds characteristic of many ophioglossids.
Leptosporangiate fern: A fern whose sporangia typically develop from a single initial cell and have a specialized annulus. Most familiar ferns are leptosporangiate, unlike the eusporangiate Ophioglossidae.
Sporangium: A structure in which spores are produced and released. Ophioglossidae bears sporangia on a specialized fertile segment of each frond.
Mycorrhiza: A close association between a fungus and a plant root or root-like tissue, often involving nutrient exchange. Fungal associations support the subterranean development of many ophioglossid gametophytes.