Schizaeaceae is a family with three subfamilies, Anemioideae, Lygodioideae and Schizaeoideae (sometimes treated as families), with a total of four genera and about 190 species. They are mainly distributed in the tropics, but several species are found in temperate regions in North America, South Africa, Australasia and Northeast Asia. The family is united in that the sporangia are borne on specialised pinnae, distinct from ordinary vegetative pinnae. The pinnae form small comb-like, pinnate structures on which the sporangia are formed.