Abstract Detail

Pteridology

Pryer, Kathleen [1], Windham, Michael D. [1], Huiet, Layne [1], Rothfels, Carl [2].

A small new genus uniting surprisingly disparate cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae).

Cheilanthoid ferns are notorious for large, poorly defined genera that are routinely proven to be non-monophyletic (e.g., Cheilanthes, Doryopteris, Notholaena, Pellaea). Morphological convergence is certainly the rule, rather than the exception, among these xeric ferns. Generic affinities remain particularly vexing for a small group (~5 species) informally known as the “skinneri complex” that is endemic to Mexico and Central America. Most recently included in Cheilanthes, some researchers argue this group is better placed in Pellaea. Adding an especially bizarre twist, it has been proposed that one of these species (appropriately named gryphus) is an intergeneric hybrid between Cheilanthes and the distantly related genus Hemionitis. To address this conundrum, we assembled macro- and micromorphological observations, cytogenetic data, and both plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. We confirm that the traditional core species of the skinneri complex are monophyletic, together with the proposed hybrid and the enigmatic taxon currently called Hemionitis subcordata. This clade is phylogenetically distant from both Cheilanthes and Hemionitis and should be included in neither; it warrants recognition as a distinct genus.

1 - Duke University, Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708-0338, USA
2 - University of California Berkeley, University Herbarium and Dept. of Integrative Biology, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

Keywords:
morphological convergence
Cheilanthes
Hemionitis
Pellaea.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 7, Pteridological Section/AFS
Location: 203/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: 7005
Abstract ID:789
Candidate for Awards:None