Many of them have linear frond segments, and some have sub-palmate division. Like other members of the
Pteridaceae, the frond margin is reflexed over the marginal
sori. The outermost layer is the single layered
epidermis without stomata. The cortex is differentiated into outer and inner cortical region. The vascular cylinder is an
amphiphloicsiphonostele.
The term "brake", used for members of this genus, is a
Middle English word for "fern" from southern England. Its derivation is unclear, and is generally thought to be related to "
bracken", whereby the latter word has been assumed to be a plural, as with "children", and the former word a back-formation. However it may have a separate derivation.[5]
The Latin genus name Pteris refers to the
Greek name for fern (also meaning feathery).[6]
Some of these ferns are popular in cultivation as houseplants. These smaller species are often called "table ferns".
Pteris vittata (commonly known as brake fern) was discovered to have the ability to "hyperaccumulate" (absorb large amounts of)
arsenic from soil. The fern was growing at a central
Florida site contaminated with large amounts of
copper arsenate in the soil. Dr. Lena Q. Ma of the
University of Florida later discovered that it had hyperaccumulated considerable amounts of arsenic from the soil. The discovery may lead to the use of Pteris vittata as a potential
bioremediation plant.
[1]
^PPG I (2016). "A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 54 (6): 563–603.
doi:10.1111/jse.12229.
S2CID39980610.