View source for Marattiaceae

__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
| name = ''Marattiaceae''
| common_names =     <!--- if multiple, list all, if none, leave blank -->
| color = IndianRed
| image = Upload.png   <!--- Freesia.jpg -->
| image_width = 240px    <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
| image_caption =     <!--- eg. Cultivated freesias -->
| regnum = Plantae
| divisio = Pteridophyta
| classis = Filicinae
| ordo = Marattiales
| familia = Marattiaceae
}}
Marattiaceae is a family of the order [[Marattiales]] of the sub-class [[Eusporangiatae]] of the [[class]] [[Filicinae]] of the [[Pteridophyta]] [[Division]] (phyllum) of the [[plant]] kingdom.{{SCH}}

Marattiaceae (from the genus Marattia, named in honor of Maratti, Italian botanist). Marattia Family. Fig. 1. Stately tropical ferns with thickened, often erect, stems: leaves usually very large, from nearly entire to several times pinnate, circinate, inclosed when young by the prominent stipules: indusium present or absent: sporangia in sori on the under face of the leaf, either separate or united into a capsule-like body (synangium); the walls several cells in thickness; annulus wanting, or greatly reduced; dehiscence by clefts, pores, or, in case of the “synangia,” first by valves and then by slits: prothallium a green heart-shaped thallus on the surface of the soil, sometimes branched.{{SCH}}

Four genera and about 23 species are found in tropical regions, but extend into the south temperate zone. The fern-like habit, the prominent stipules, the thick-walled sporangia borne in sori or synangia, the absence of a well-developed annulus, and the green thalloid emersed prothallia, are important characteristics. The family is probably very old geologically.{{SCH}}

The thick, starchy stem of Angiopteris and some Marattias are locally used for food. The fleshy stipules of Marattia fraxinea are eaten; the spicy leaves of some species are used to season food. The slime from the stipules of M. Douglasii is used medicinally by the Hawaiians.{{SCH}}

Three genera are known to American horticulture and are occasionally grown as ornamental greenhouse plants: Angiopteris, Danaea, and Marattia, representing less than a half-dozen cultivated species.{{SCH}}