The hairy tree-fern family (Dicksoniaceae) was one of the dominant fern groups from the Middle Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous, with a worldwide distribution. Among them, Coniopteris was the most common, with over 60 known species found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate environments throughout the Mesozoic. Although the best-known members of the Dicksoniaceae today are tree ferns, Coniopteris was a small- to medium-sized ground fern with a creeping rhizome (its underground stem and root system), similar in appearance to the modern false bracken (Calochlaena). It likely grew as an understory plant in Jurassic and Early Cretaceous wet forests. A recent study has even suggested that Coniopteris may actually belong closer to the Polypodiales (the group that includes most living fern species) but this reclassification has yet to gain broad acceptance.