Towards the natural classification of tectarioid ferns: Confirming the phylogenetic relationships ofPleocnemiaandPteridrys(eupolypods I)

• DOI: 10.1111/jse.12073
• Publication Date: 2013-12-16T10:32:46Z
• Authors: Hong‐Mei LIU; Li‐Juan HE; Harald SCHNEIDER
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; 13. Climate action; 11. Sustainability; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

AbstractThe phylogenetic relationships of the two derived fern generaPleocnemiaandPteridryswere considered ambiguous even with molecular evidence from previous studies. In the present study we determined the phylogenetic position based on five plastid DNA regions, namelyatpA,atpB,rbcL, therps4 + rps4–trnSintergenic spacer, and thetrnL‐Fregion, and an expanded taxonomic coverage including several accessions of each of the two genera. Our results showed that the monophyletic genusPleocnemiabelonged to the Dryopteridaceae and was not related to the Tectariaceae, as it had been in the past.Pleocnemiawas found to be closely related to the bolbitidoid and lastreopsioid ferns. The monophyletic genusPteridryswas found to be sister to a clade comprisingTriplophyllumandTectarias.l. Thus, the placement of this genus into Tectariaceae was confirmed. The sinus teeth, the unique similarity shared byPleocnemiaandPteridrys, evolved independently in the two genera. Both genera appeared to have diverged from their closest extant relatives at least since the Eocene, whereas the crown group ages indicated radiation events in the Late Miocene for both genera.