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- Order Ophioglassales

- one family within the order: Ophioglossaceae

- four genera within the family: Ophioglossum (wide spread, cosmopolitan, but prefers tropical regions), Botrychium (wide spread, but restricted to North Temperate Zone)

Distribution and Habitat
This family, like other ferns, has a generally widespread global range, mostly in part due to the minimal adaptability requirements for these plants to prosper. Ophioglossaceae have facilitated a small range of species within its evolutionary history as well. On average, genera of the Ophioglossaceae can be found with temperate to boreal ecological distribution. The smaller two genera of the four have more specific locations:


 * Helminthostachys - 1 species (H. zeylanica), Indo-Australasi
 * Mankyua - 1 species (M. chejuense), Jeju Island, S. Korea

while the other two genera have a wider distribution:


 * Ophioglossum - potential for widespread global distribution but prefers tropical regions
 * Botrychium - also has potential for widespread disrtibution, but is restricted to North Temperate zones
 * more specifically, one species of Botrychium is found within the African continent while two other species are found in Australia and New Zealand.

Ecological Relationships
Species within the genera of Ophioglossaceae will have similar herbivorous relationships with animals that may live in the same ecosystem and that rely on plants as a primary source of energy. These species are also not considered parasitic, invasive, or pests.

One important ecological relationship that is seen among all genera is the mutualistic relationship between the roots of Ophioglossaceae and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbionts. Some research has been done to further explore the relationship between AMS's and the Botrychium, but generally the fungus plays a critical role in sporophyte development, being the sole aid in growth given that development happens underground without assistance from sunlight.

Additional research has been done on ecological relationships between individual species within the four genera of Ophioglossaceae, but much more analysis needs to be done to understand the full extent of their relations to one another.

All species found within Ophioglossaceae have a much higher tendency to self-fertilize. This allows for minimal rates of mutation and recombination, leading to a very minimal evolutionary force on individual species. This is hypothesized to explain the small number of species within the family, their general population dispersal dynamics, and how they have not deviated much from their evolutionary origins.