References: Wagner in FNA (1993b).
A family of 2-3 genera and about 30 species.
Schizaea Smith (Curly-grass Fern)
A genus of about 10 species, mostly tropical.
*Schizaea pusilla Pursh, Curly-grass Fern. Cp (NC): moist, peaty soil under Chamaecyparis thyoides; rare, apparently introduced. May-July. This species occurs in acid, boggy sites in DE, NJ, NY, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; a similar or possibly identical plant is known from Peru. The leaves are filiform, 1-12 cm long. Spores of Schizaea have been identified in Pleistocene organic sediment from Singletary Lake (Bladen County, NC) and Rockyhock Bay (Chowan County, NC) (Whitehead 1963). Its native occurrence in our area as an extant species is plausible. See LeBlond & Weakley (in press) for further information on this species= occurrence in North Carolina. [= FNA, C, F, G, K]
The Lygodiaceae is often combined with the Schizaeaceae.
Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 27 October 1997 -- KEY TO PTERIDOPHYTE GENERA. Alan S. Weakley. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Department.