[5][6] It is placed in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I).

[3] Many of the species have stout, slowly creeping rootstocks that form a crown, with a vase-like ring of fronds.

[1] Some genera sunk into Dryopteris, such as Dryopsis, Stenolepia and Nothoperanema, are distinguished by other sources.

Many Dryopteris species are widely used as garden ornamental plants, especially D. affinis, D. erythrosora, and D. filix-mas, with numerous cultivars.

Dryopteris filix-mas was throughout much of recent human history widely used as a vermifuge, and was the only fern listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.