Name honors James J. Dickson (1738-1822), British botanist and nurseryman.
Plants large to very large, terrestrial. Caudices erect to creeping, trunklike, hairy, without scales. Fronds large, strong, hairs present, scales lacking, spreading rosettelike from crown. Blades 2-pinnate or more dissected, monomorphic or dimorphic. Stipes hairy at base or entirely covered with hairs, usually with lateral continuous or interrupted pneumatophores. Veins free, forked or pinnate, ending near margins. Sori single on vein ends. Indusia composed of inner (abaxial) indusium and a strongly modified outer margin of leaf (outer indusium).
A family of around five genera with worldwide distribution in the Tropics and temperate zones. Represented in Hawai 'i by the single genus Cibotium.
The hairy species in the genus Cibotium that lack scales are easily distinguished from the naturalized tree fern Spaeropteris cooperi, which has scales and lacks hairs.